Date: July 28,2006
Public Affairs Contacts:
U.S. Coast Guard: Petty Officer Sara Francis (907) 271-2660

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines: Greg Beuerman (504) 524-3342

Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation: Lynda Giguere (907) 321-5491

Unified Command Press Release

Unified Command established to respond to Cougar Ace

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The Coast Guard, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation have come together to establish a unified command to respond to the Cougar Ace situation in Anchorage. They are monitoring the situation and stationing response assets accordingly.

The Cougar Ace was at last report 130 nautical miles south of Amlia Island in the Aleutian Island chain. It has been adrift since approximately 1 a.m. Monday. The vessel is being pushed by the wind at about two knots. Since about 4 p.m. Wednesday the vessel was on a mostly northern route. At the time of this release the wind had shifted and has been pushing the vessel east for the last 5 hours. The 378-foot Coast Guard cutter Rush remains on scene monitoring the Cougar Ace for signs of pollution and tracking its movement.

Four other vessels are en route to the Cougar Ace's position. Some estimated times of arrival have changed since early reports today.

• Coast Guard cutter Morgenthau - Cutter departed Dutch Harbor late Thursday night after taking on fuel and stores. Salvage equipment was placed on board in Dutch Harbor. Vessel's homeport is Alameda, Calif. They were diverted from a previous mission in Alaska waters to respond to the drifting vessel. They will relieve the cutter Rush.
• Tug Sea Victory - The vessel is a Crowley Marine tug from Seattle. It was dispatched Wednesday and is expected to arrive on scene Monday.
• Tug Emma Foss - The Emma Foss is a Foss Maritime tug from Dutch Harbor. The vessel departed Dutch Harbor late Thursday and arrived in Adak early today. It took on salvage and towing equipment and is currently en route to the Cougar Ace. The vessel is expected on scene Saturday.
• Makushin Bay - The vessel belongs to Magone Marine, homeported in Dutch Harbor. The Makushin Bay departed Dutch Harbor late Thursday with salvage specialists from Titan Maritime aboard. They will also arrive on scene early Sunday.

 Once on scene the various salvage experts will assess the condition of the vessel and report salvage options to the Unified Command for action.  Additional salvage equipment is being staged in Dutch Harbor.

 The Cougar Ace is continuing to emit a non-recoverable sheen as it drifts. The sheen is approximately four miles in length and is light and patchy.

Weather conditions on scene are reported as 13-20 knot winds from the west. Sea state is 11-14 feet. Conditions are overcast with intermittent rain and patchy fog. Weather conditions are not expected to change significantly over the weekend.

Additional information, images and fact sheets may be found on the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation website at:  http://www.dec.state.ak.us/spar/perp/response/sum_fy07/060728201/060728201_index.htm