Unalaska’s U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit is investigating a fishing vessel that ran aground near Iliuliuk Bay.
The F/V Northern Endurance was partially beached about three miles from downtown Unalaska, near Little Priest Rock on Thursday and was pulled free by the emergency response and salvage company Resolve Marine Friday morning around 9 a.m., according to Commanding Officer Lt. Lawrence Schalles.
Schalles said the Coast Guard’s investigation is a routine process for any commercial vessel that runs aground.
The City of Unalaska Fire Department initially responded to the incident Thursday afternoon, before handing operations over to the local Coast Guard team.
“The on-scene commander contacted the vessel captain and confirmed there were no injuries to crew members aboard, as well as no additional hazardous conditions,” the Fire Department said in a statement.
Schalles verified that there was no pollution or injuries involved in the crash.
John Hollingsworth is the chief operating officer of Marine Exchange of Alaska, a Juneau-based nonprofit organization that communicates critical maritime information like vessel tracking and radio communications. He said the vessel’s track line followed a fairly straight path after turning to come into Dutch Harbor.
“We heard some [radio] traffic back and forth between a boat that was passing by, asking if [the Northern Endurance] was okay, looked like they were a little shallow, and then also the harbor master trying to get some information from them as well,” Hollingsworth said.
He said they don’t know the cause of the incident and the vessel could have run aground for a number of reasons, including mechanical errors, human errors, or issues with the navigation system.
The 78-foot fishing boat was docked at Resolve Marine near Unalaska’s spit as of Friday afternoon.
Summer Bay Road, leading out to the landfill, is now open.