Grounded Bulk Carrier Refloated in Washington
Coast Guard monitors aground motor vessel in Columbia River (Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Levi Read)
Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Levi Read
The U.S. Coast Guard is responding to an incident involving a motor vessel that grounded in the Columbia River near Skamokawa, Washington, Friday night.
The motor vessel Rosco Palm, a 751-foot Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship reportedly ran aground at 7:49 p.m. on Friday night, refloated, moved to a few miles upstream to mitigate collision risk and then grounded while at anchor on sand bottom while waiting for first light assessment.
The vessel has refloated with the tide at 7:40 am and there is no indication of pollution being discharged. The vessel is transiting to an anchorage with pilot and tug assist. An MH-60 Jayhawk aircrew conducted an overflight of the vessel on Friday night and will conduct another overflight as weather conditions permit.
"We are fully engaged with our port partners to ensure we are responding to this event with the appropriate resources needed to minimize potential negative impacts to both natural resources and commerce" said Lt. Cmdr. Karen Denny, inspections division chief, Marine Safety Unit Portland. "We will continue to monitor the situation and respond as necessary with our partners from the Washington and Oregon along with local response teams."
A Columbia River Pilot is aboard the vessel and tugs are assisting the vessel transit upstream to verify the integrity of the hull and propulsion system.
The cause of the grounding is unknown at this time and will be investigated.
