A fishing vessel ran aground outside Unalaska early this morning. The Arctic Hunter, a 93-foot crab boat, was leaving town to start a fishing trip when it wrecked around 3:45 a.m.
Dan Magone, of Magone-Resolve Marine Services, says his company’s been contacted to provide salvage assistance. Magone says there are 12,000 gallons of fuel and hydraulic oil aboard the vessel. It’s not clear if any of that has spilled.
Magone tried to board the vessel to begin pumping fuel off of it this afternoon, but he was turned back by rough weather. A storm hit Unalaska, with winds gusting to 65 miles per hour. Magone says that if the vessel is left in the water for too long, it could, “break up out there.”
Salvagers will try to reach the vessel as soon as the weather calms down.
Unalaska’s public safety officers say they have administered a field sobriety test to the vessel’s skipper, which he passed. The cause of the wreck is not yet known.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Annie Ropeik is a reporter for KUCB in Unalaska.
