Damaged tug Pathfinder towed to Seattle

The tugboat Pathfinder, badly damaged when it ran aground Dec. 23 in Prince William Sound, has left the Port of Valdez, a spokesman for Crowley Maritime Corp. told Petroleum News.

A second Crowley tug, the Pt. Thompson, took the 136-foot Pathfinder under tow and departed Valdez on the morning of Jan. 31, said Mark Miller, director of corporate communications for Crowley, based in Jacksonville, Fla.

Crowley has used the 85-foot Pt. Thompson at Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay.

The Pathfinder was being taken to the Port of Seattle, specifically Crowley’s Pier 17 location, Miller said.

The journey south was expected to take seven days, putting the Pathfinder’s arrival time in Seattle at around Feb. 7 assuming favorable weather, he said.

No decision has been made, Miller said, on whether to repair or scrap the Pathfinder, built in 1970.

Severe damage

The Pathfinder had been out patrolling for drifting icebergs in the shipping lanes in Prince William Sound and was on its way back to Valdez when it ran aground on infamous Bligh Reef, the same rock the tanker Exxon Valdez hit with disastrous consequences in 1989.

No one was injured and the tug didn’t sink, but it sustained serious keel damage and some of its fuel tanks were breached.

Crowley estimated 6,410 gallons of diesel spilled into Prince William Sound, prompting a sizable cleanup effort.

The reef is well-marked and lighted. Crowley relieved the captain and second mate pending the outcome of the investigation.

The status of the probe was still unknown as Crowley, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation remained silent on whether they’ve reached any conclusions on how the accident happened.

To ready the Pathfinder for the long, slow tow to Seattle, Crowley removed all the remaining fuel and lubricants from the vessel.

Some temporary repairs also were made to the hull.

The company had to obtain Coast Guard approval for its plan to tow the tug away, Miller said.

Crowley and Coast Guard personnel did a final walk-through on the Pathfinder, and “everybody was comfortable and signed off on the plan,” Miller said.

With the temporary repairs that were made in Valdez, he said, “she’s completely seaworthy.”

—Wesley Loy