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Crew Rescued from Listing Ship Off Alaska

On Tuesday, the twenty-three crew members of a ship that had been taking on water ? with an 80% list ? off the coast of Alaska were rescued by the United States Coast Guard and Alaska Air National Guard. The details of what exactly led to the ship, a cargo carrier ferrying thousands of cars to be sold in Canada, to such an end have not yet been released. An oil slick more than two miles long was reported behind the ship, and there were worries that more of the ships fuel and other oil reserves on the vessel would leak out and spread.

4,813 vehicles were said to be on the Singapore-flagged ship, the Cougar Ace, owned by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines. It is known that one of the crew members suffered a broken leg, though why isn?t known. Rescue aircraft dropped floatation devices and emergency rafts in the water before actually picking up the crew of the Cougar Ace, in case the ship went under before a rescue either by the Coast Guard, the Alaska Air National Guard, or other merchant vessels in the area could be carried out.

The Cougar Ace was supposed to dock in Vancouver this Friday, and even though the crew has abandoned ship, between 400-500 metric tons of fuel oil, and 112 tons of diesel fuel, remain aboard and if the 654-foot capsizes or goes completely under, an ecological disaster could be the result. The waters off the Aleutian Islands of the American state of Alaska have seen their fair share of shipping accidents, but while the causes of other incidents have been revealed fairly quickly, the cause of this particular incident remains unrevealed.