VALDEZ, Alaska – The tugboat Pathfinder has been safely towed to and moored at the Valdez Petroleum Terminal in the Port of Valdez at 12:56 a.m., Sunday.
After a ten-hour approximately 20-mile transit through Prince William Sound, the Pathfinder is safely in Valdez. The return of the tug to Valdez further progresses the command’s goal of safely and efficiently bringing the incident to a successful conclusion.
“Once the Pathfinder is secured at the pier, our next step it to assess the quantity of fuel recovered and lost,” said John Engles, field State on Scene Coordinator. “We will continue to address any potential impact to the environment.”
There have been no reported impacts to the shoreline or area wildlife.
“Now that the Pathfinder has returned to Valdez, we will focus on decontamination and demobilization of resources and further assessment of the vessel’s condition,” said Walt Tague, Crowley Incident Commander. “Crowley appreciates all the hard work of the responders and Unified Command over Christmas and under difficult conditions to get the Pathfinder back to Valdez safely.”
Crews will continue working aboard the Pathfinder in the coming days to further assess damage to the vessel and removal of fuel remaining on the vessel.
The incident is under investigation by the Coast Guard. Crowley is cooperating fully with the investigation while focusing on decontaminating the vessels and equipment used and demobilizing resources. Results of the investigation will be made available once it is complete.
