Lt. Doug Schuster, supervisor Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment Unalaska and pollution investigator overflew the wreck Monday night in a Coast Guard helicopter. He reported that the stern portion of the vessel had rotated 90 degrees placing it closer and nearly parallel to the shore.  As recently as the 12th of October, the stern section had been observed perpendicular to the shore as it had been since its initial grounding.

Only the stern most part of the deck, ship’s name and the stack are still visible above water. The majority of the superstructure had been removed by salvage crews this fall.  The cargo cranes had not been removed yet but are no longer visible. There has not been a visible effect on the bow section which had already sunk in December. The condition of the wreck below the ocean surface will require evaluation when weather conditions permit.

“The recent storms are the worst we’ve had out of the Northwest since the grounding last year,” said Schuster.

He also stated that he saw emulsified oil in the water. “It’s emulsified, meaning it looks like chocolate mousse. That’s a good thing, it means the wave action is quickly breaking it up,” said Schuster.  The emulsified oil and light to heavy sheening has been observed in the immediate vicinity of the wreck.

“The bulk of the oil was removed in January. With this much movement it is not surprising that we saw a release of some residual oil clinging inside the tanks and pocketed oil that was not accessible during the January oil removal,” said Capt. Mark DeVries, commanding officer of Coast Guard Marine Safety Office Anchorage and Captain of the Port for Western Alaska.

The beach at Spray Cape is very exposed and did not retain any significant amount of oil from the initial spill in December 2004. The continued wave action and projected winter storms are expected to facilitate the natural weathering process. The shoreline at Spray Cape and adjacent areas are scheduled for inspection when response personnel return in May 2006.  In the meantime, the Unified Command will assess the impact of this recent release of oil and update the surveys of the shoreline completed before the response stood down for the winter.

The movement of the vessel was first reported to the Unified Command when a private pilot flying over the wreck Friday noted the wreck had moved. Coast Guard crews, as part of the Unified Command’s Winter Program, overflew the site Monday and confirmed the report.

Local officials and Unalaska land owners were invited to Marine Safety Detachment Unalaska at 9 a.m. today. They discussed the situation via teleconference with the Unified Command in Anchorage. The Unified Command will continue to monitor the situation and assess the position and condition of the wreck.

The summer clean-up process came to a close on October 3. The Unified Command has developed a Winter Program and a Spring 2006 plan. The details of that plan can be found at http://www.state.ak.us/dec/spar along with photos of the wreck taken during the overflight Monday.