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| US Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk Air Station Kodiak, photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Bradley Pigage (archive) |
KODIAK, Alaska — The Coast Guard verified the refloating of the landing craft Don Quixote without incident during high tide Thursday, about 2 miles south of Cape Kuliuk on Kodiak Island.
An Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew on an overflight did not observe any sheening or discharge and confirmed the vessel appeared stable.
Don Quixote crew members repaired leaks and lightened the load on board before the successful refloating attempt.
The Coast Guard has allowed the vessel to resume operations and determined that a substantial threat to the environment has been mitigated.
"Despite some minor, unrecoverable sheening reported yesterday, this is otherwise the best case scenario for all involved," said Lt. James Nunez, incident management division chief for Coast Guard Sector Anchorage. "When a grounding occurs we take immediate action to ensure safety of the mariner and to protect the environment. While the response phase is now complete, our investigators will look into all the factors that led to the grounding."
-USCG-