Posted at 9:01 a.m., Friday, February 11, 2005
Grounded ship successfully floats free of reef
Advertiser Staff
The 555-foot ship Cape Flattery was successfully re-floated off a reef about 400 yards off the entrance to Kalaeloa Barbers Point Harbor at 2:22 a.m. today with the assistance of three tugs, the Coast Guard said.The vessel was towed by tugs to safe anchorage about 1 mile offshore. Assessments of the internal spaces on the vessel and the hull will be conducted before the ship will be allowed to enter port, according to a Coast Guard news release.
Efforts to refloat the vessel required the removal of all but enough fuel oil to operate the vessel's engines and the removal of about 9,000 metric tons of the granular cement cargo.
The Motor Vessel Hawaii Responder, an oil spill response vessel operated by the Marine Spill Response Corporation remains on scene, standing by to respond to any reported pollution in the water. There are no current reports of pollution, the news release said.
A helicopter overflight of the area will be conducted this morning to verify that there is no oil in the water.
Throughout the operation, a Unified Command comprised of federal, state, and the vessel owners and their representatives monitored the cargo offload and the re-floating efforts.
