On Monday, high winds knocked up to 3,000 gallons of fuel off a dock roughly 50 miles north of the City of Kodiak.
According to a situation report from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, gusts of more than 80 mph Monday toppled a fuel bladder at Port Williams on Shuyak Island.
The United States Coast Guard has contracted with Anchorage-based Alaska Chadux for cleanup.
Matthew Melton, general manager with Chadux, says their crew is on standby in the City of Kodiak due to wind.
“There’s a lot of people that are ready to rock and roll. We’re just waiting for the weather to lay down so we can get out there and be able to work safety.”
According to the DEC report, they suspect the bladder has released all of its fuel into the water, but Melton says they still need to check out the scene.
“There’ll be some guys who are gonna contain and some guys who are gonna assess, so things will happen pretty quickly once they get there.”
In the case of a fuel spill, they use an oil containment boom, which looks like a long, plastic rope, to gather the fuel and prevent it from leaving the bay.
Shuyak is the site of Port Williams Seaplane Base, which is under the ownership of Ocean Beauty Seafoods, and the area is labeled as critical habitat for both sea otters and Steller sea lions.
Kayla Deroches is a reporter at KMXT in Kodiak.
