OR&R Aids Selendang Ayu Spill Response

M/V Selendang Ayu, Dec. 9, 2004 at Skan Bay, Alaska. Source: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

NOAA Involvement Status Report:  M/V Selendang Ayu, Unalaska Island, Alaska.

December 14, 2004 - The NOAA Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) responds to oil spills, hazardous releases, and ship groundings that have the potential to affect coastal resources and their habitats. OR&R has been involved with the M/V Selendeng Ayu incident off the northwest coast of Unalaska Island in the Aleutians since December 7, 2004, when the ship was adrift. Once it was apparent that the vessel was going to ground, OR&R activated its emergency response team and mobilized personnel to Dutch Harbor, Alaska.

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) is the Federal On-Scene Coordinator for the incident. Since December 8, an OR&R Scientific Support Team, composed of both on-scene and Seattle personnel, has been assisting the USCG with oil trajectory modeling, oil fates, assessment of potential natural resource impacts, weather, information management, aerial reconnaissance of the spill, shoreline assessment, and other scientific support.

OR&R also represents NOAA/DOC as a natural resource trustee. NOAA acts on behalf of the public to assess impacts from spills and pursue claims against the spiller for the cost of restoration. OR&R is working with the other federal and state agencies to prepare a preliminary damage assessment and restoration strategy for the Selendang Ayu spill.

In addition to the OR&R activities, several other NOAA offices provide important services during spill responses. The National Weather Service supplied an Incident Meteorologist, installed a HANDAR mobile weather station on-scene, and is providing site-specific weather forecasts for the spill area. The National Data Buoy Center is providing information and has made a weather buoy available to the response. The Office of Coast Survey has provided detailed hydrographic information including the original survey data for the grounding site. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has several personnel on-scene, including enforcement agents and marine mammal experts. NMFS is also assisting with potential fishery management issues and with informal Endangered Species Act consultations for Stellar Sea lions. NOAA's National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) has provided Radarsat imagery for the spill area.

Background on the Incident

Late on December 8, 2004, the Malaysian Freighter M/V Selendang Ayu came ashore on Spray Cape, near the northwest corner of Unalaska Island in the Aleutians. The grounding site is approximately 25 air miles from Dutch Harbor. The vessel had been adrift without power for over 36 hours, but strong winds and high seas precluded attempts to tow the vessel away from shore and attempts at anchoring failed. A tug managed to get a line on the vessel but the line later broke. The 730-foot vessel, loaded with soybeans and carrying 483,000 gallons of heavy bunker oil and 20,000 gallons of diesel fuel, broke into two sections shortly after grounding, spilling an unknown amount of oil. The vessel sections remain approximately one-half mile offshore of Spray Cape. A salvage/wreck removal plan is currently being developed.