Selendang...
Leaves Behind a Large Oil Spill

Note From The Editor:

Many readers have asked about the oil spill on the Unalaska coast, particularly since I personally had the opportunity to participate in the cleanup process. At your request, we've compiled information from U.S. Coast Guard reports, Alaska Fish & Game reports and my personal encounter with the spill.

What does the freighter, Selendang AYU, and an Alaska oil spill have to do with the Northwest, and especially about travel? Well, quite a bit actually.

Since "our" recent encounter with the hurricanes in the Gulf Region, travel in that area was impacted immensely. And who's to say a devasting event, such as an oil spill, cannot happen in the Northwest. We'd all feel it's affects within the entire region, from travel to commerce.

We can place numerous safety precautions along the Oregon and Washington coasts to help prevent an oil spill; however, there's no absolute 100% preventative measure. At some point in time, we may experience and feel the effects from a spill.

The Spill...

(Photos on this page courtesy of NOAA & The U.S. Coast Guard.)

The Malaysian freighter, Selendang AYU, a 738-foot cargo ship, ran aground off the coast of Unalaska Island, December 2004. The rough and powerful Bering seas had no mercy, split the large freighter into two sections.

The freighter, bound from Tacoma, Washington to China, was carrying some 420,000 gallons of bunker fuel, 18,000 gallons of diesel with a cargo of 60,000 tons of soybeans. When the ship hit the rocks fuel and cargo began pouring into the Bering Sea.

Prior to the Malaysian freighter running aground, the crew was struggling to keep the engine running. Apparently a cylinder had ruptured on the afternoon of December 6, 2004 forcing the captain to make a crucial and difficult decision. Should he run the engine and risk making it to a safe port, perhaps the engine would be totally destroyed, or should he shut down the engine and attempt a repair at sea?

The captain chose to shut the engine down and attempt a repair. Without propulsion, the Selendang was at the mercy of the Bering Sea. The fate of the crew and the Selendang simply depended on repairing the engine.

Engine repairs are typically not crucial, if the ship has the entire ocean as a staging platform; however, close to shore it could be devastating. In this case, the crew was required to utilize a crane, change out the liner and restart the engine before any weather conditions would drive them into the Alaska coastline. Typically, a liner change out would take approximately 15-20 hours in smooth sea conditions but in the thrashing Bering Seas, the time would take much longer.

The Selendang was no match for the treacherous Bering Sea, the crew could not complete the repair job. Records report that the captain radioed for help at 1 a.m. on December 7th. The Coast Guard responded sending a cutter to aid the freighter.

In an all out attempt to save the Selendang from the rugged Unalaska coastline, the Coast Guard and local tug boats attempted to tow the freighter away from the coast with no avail. The seas snapped the tow lines. The freighter dropped its own anchor; however, the violent seas severed the cable.

Winds were gusting upwards to 70 mph pushing the freighter closer and closer to shore. The focus turned to one of rescue, get the crew members off the doomed freighter.

Two Coast Guard helicopters rescued 19 crew members in a heroic manner. The captain and seven crew members opted to remain with the ship, attempting to restart the engine. Within hours of the initial rescue, the freighter hit a submerged rock.

The Selendang, now destined to the mighty Bering Sea, had sea water flowing into the cargo holds from the severed hull. It was time to abandon ship. A helicopter was dispatched to pick up the remaining crew members. While the rescue copter was picking up the remaining crew members a huge wave engulfed the helicopter, crashing it into the sea.

The three Coast Guard crewmen survived due to their survival suits; however, six of the seven Selendang crew members died. The captain, still on the bow of the vessel with a Coast Guard diver, watched in horror as the helicopter crashed. They were later picked up by another rescue helicopter.

The freighter, now broke into two sections, was pouring thousands of gallons of fuel and tons of soybeans into the Bering Sea. The mission now turned into one of "oil spill clean-up".

The Clean Up...

The clean-up process began soon after oil was making its appearance on Unalaska's beaches. Due to heavy weather conditions, a full fledged oil spill cleanup could not take place until the spring of 2005.

A host of environmental companies were involved in the coordination and actual cleanup process. Waste Management and General Environmental handled and managed the oily waste derived from the clean up process.

Waste Management anchored two support barges, in two separate bays (Makushin and Skan Bays), to receive oily waste and act as a storage platform for the much needed spill cleanup supplies. The oily waste was collected on the beaches, put into heavy duty poly bags, loaded on a small transport vessel and off-loaded by crane into waste containers on the barge.

A 5-person crew managed each Waste Management barge. A crew support vessel was tied alongside or anchored nearby offering berthing and support necessities for the barge crew. The barge crew was rotated out approximately every month; however, some barge crew personnel elected to stay longer.

The Waste Management crew were highly experienced personnel, very capable of managing the day to day activities associated with the oily waste. Regardless of the severe weather conditions, working in a remote location, and living aboard a support vessel, the crew handled all of the waste in a safe and professional manner.

Considering the tedious beach clean up work and rough seas, the method for cleaning the beaches and managing the waste was very safe, secure and effective. Waste Management did an exceedingly well job of managing the waste for transport out of the Bering Sea as well as the preparation for the ultimate treatment and/or disposal of the oily waste.

Summers End...

It was mid-September, 2005 when the main efforts of the clean up were called to a halt. A small response and survey team remained to scope out the beaches.

A local Dutch Harbor company was contracted to salvage portions of the Selendang.

The Future...

We'll have to monitor the situation with information coming out of Dutch Harbor regarding any on-going spill clean up activities, the salvage of the Selendang, and wild life threats as a result of the spill. If you have further interest in this specific oil spill, contact the government officials for the State of Alaska.

UPDATE...I returned to Dutch Harbor the end of June 2006. The last remaining beaches were cleaned and the oily waste was shipped out of Dutch Harbor. Essentially, the Oil Spill Clean-Up project is over.

Craig Dahl - Senior Editor