Another reason all our work on getting rescue tugs and others involved in the protection of the Strait was a good idea. This time the rescue tug was not needed, but another tug from PA came to the rescue. I’ll update this story if there is reason to.
A cargo ship lost steering off Port Angeles just after midnight Wednesday and was towed into the Port Angeles Harbor for repair. The state Department of Ecology received a report from the state Emergency Management Division that the Grand Quest lost steering 6 nautical miles northwest of Port Angeles in the Strait of Juan de Fuca just after 12:15 a.m. The Grand Quest is a 587-foot Panama-flagged auto carrier that left Astoria, Ore., at 5:35 p.m. Tuesday, and was on its way to Tacoma, according to the ship’s GPS locator beacon. The Brian S., a Port Angeles-based tug, towed the ship to anchor in Port Angeles at about 3 a.m., said Petty Officer Katelyn Tyson, a Coast Guard spokeswoman.
Cargo ship loses steering, towed to Port Angeles for repairs http://peninsuladailynews.com/article/20130704/NEWS/307049991/cargo-ship-loses-steering-towed-to-port-angeles-for-repairs
Filed under: Oil Spills, Port Angeles | Tagged: Clallam County, oil spill, Oil Spills, Olympic Peninsula, Port Angeles, Rescue Tug, state, Washington |
I think that is more correct for pleasure craft. For huge commercial shipping like this, they most certainly do try to bring the ship into port. The issue is whether they can get to the ship in time. For example, if a ship lost steerage heading towards the turn at Admiralty Inlet, there would likely no way to get a tug to assist before it ended up on Whidbey Island if they were inbound.
Good to know that they go out for these ships. While in Sekiu this week, was told that the Coast Guard rescued people from their sinking boat but let the boat go down. Vessel Assist didn’t answer the calls, I was told.