Local news agency confirmed that in the process non-integral items are being removed from the vessel and a team comprised of commercial and Coast Guard salvors is working to rig the vessel for recovery. This includes some welding and repairs, the removal of the nets, removal of the rudder and deicing. It is informed that the team anticipates recovery from the beach to take place this month. Once afloat the vessel will be towed to port for repair.
It is also confirmed that 19,000 gallons of diesel and 660 gallons of lube oil were removed from the vessel in March. Work to ready the vessel to be pulled from the beach has progressed over the last few weeks. Responders have worked amidst and have been hampered by harsh spring weather conditions including rain, snow, freezing spray and winds of more than 50 miles per hour. The sea ice has retreated to just off shore.
The Coast Guard, State of Alaska Dept. of Environmental Conservation and the vessel’s owner have been working cooperatively as a unified command with local salvage experts and the Coast Guard Pacific Strike Force to limit the potential pollution threat from the vessel and recover it from the sensitive habitat.
The process reported no spill of oil on the beach. A subsistence sampling program, lead by the state, is being developed. The unified command recommends no subsistence harvests be conducted in the immediate area until the vessel is removed and sufficient sampling can be completed.
