Posted on: Monday, July 4, 2005
Stranded ship's leak appears under control
Advertiser Staff
The Coast Guard yesterday continued to monitor a 145-foot ship that ran aground in a marine reserve in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, but said an apparent fuel leak around the ship may be under control.
The ship's crew had deployed a pollution-absorbing boom around part of the ship and transferred fuel to another fuel tank, actions that may have stopped the leak, the Coast Guard said.
The 23 people on board, including University of Hawai'i scientists, were unhurt and took the Casitas' smaller boats to North Island Saturday night. They were scheduled to be taken to Midway Island by the research ship Oscar Elton Sette last night.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration contracted the Casitas for marine debris removal.
A C-130 from Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point conducting aerial surveillance of the ship reported yesterday that a 500-yard-long, rainbow-colored sheen had appeared in the water near the Casitas, which ran aground Saturday morning on Pearl and Hermes Atoll, about 86 nautical miles east-southeast of Midway.
