ASTORIA, Ore. — The Coast Guard has been closely monitoring the progress of the Morning Spruce, a 648-foot vessel that lost, then regained, power off the Oregon Coast Sunday.
The Morning Spruce successfully crossed the Columbia River bar under escort of the tug Kokua. The Morning Spruce and Kokua were joined by the tug Vancouver near Astoria. Both tug vessels will escort Morning Spruce to Portland, Ore., where the Coast Guard will ensure a proper inspection of the vessel and its recent repairs.
Initial plans to anchor the vessel near Astoria were canceled as its draft is too deep to anchor safely.
Coast Guard Sector Columbia River, Ore., has been coordinating actions to protect the Oregon Coast and the shores of the Columbia River from any threat posed by the 648-foot, Singapore-flagged car-carrier Morning Spruce that lost all power and was adrift in 12-foot seas, for approximately 4 ½ hours, southwest of the Columbia River entrance Sunday.
At approximately 3:30 p.m., Sunday, the Morning Spruce’s engineer was able to restore the ship’s power. The Coast Guard directed the Morning Spruce to remain offshore until repairs were verified and a tug arrived on scene.
The vessel contains approximately 543,000 gallons of heavy, diesel and lube oil along with a full shipment of cars.
