M/V Selendang Ayu Cleanup Operations Complete
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Heavily oiled outlet of small stream channel on western end of Makushin Bay, Alaska, January 18, 2005, after the spill from the M/V Selendang Ayu.
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June 23, 2006 - This week marks the completion of cleanup activities from the M/V Selendang Ayu oil spill near Dutch Harbor, Alaska. The M/V Selendang Ayu ran aground and broke apart near Unalaska Island between Skan Bay and Spray Cape, approximately 25 miles southwest of Dutch Harbor, on December 8, 2004. An estimated 321,000 gallons of intermediate fuel oil, 14,680 gallons of marine diesel, and the vessel's load of approximately 60 thousand tons of soybeans were released and contaminated miles of nearby beaches.
Cleanup activities were conducted between May and September of 2005, and resumed in May 2006 for shorelines that did not reach cleanup endpoint criteria last year. Over the past 19 months, several NOAA Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) scientists have helped conduct shoreline surveys, make cleanup recommendations, and inspect shorelines after cleanup. Assessment of damage to natural resources and restoration planning continue. All activities have been conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Coast Guard, State of Alaska, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska Department of Conservation, and the party responsible for the spill.
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