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Alaska tug captain sentenced for wreck Judge says Ronald Monsen was negligent in allowing boat to hit infamous Bligh Reef, causing fuel spill into Prince William Sound Wesley Loy For Petroleum News
The captain of an oil industry tugboat that ran aground on Alaska’s infamous Bligh Reef in late 2009 was sentenced June 15 to six months of home confinement and other penalties.
Ronald Monsen, 63, of Anchorage, was captain of the Pathfinder, one of the Crowley Maritime Corp. tugs stationed at Valdez to assist and escort oil tankers calling there to load North Slope crude oil.
On Dec. 23, 2009, the Pathfinder was out in Prince William Sound scouting for chunks of glacial ice, which can pose a hazard to tankers.
Federal prosecutors, in a press release, said Monsen made navigational errors and was playing games on a bridge computer as the boat headed toward the reef.
The 136-foot tug remained afloat, but the grounding breached fuel tanks and 6,410 gallons of diesel spilled, requiring a massive cleanup response.
Bligh Reef is a charted navigational hazard that gained worldwide notoriety in 1989 when the oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran onto the reef, spilling nearly 11 million gallons of crude oil.
Industry veteran Monsen had 33 years in the industry, had worked on the Pathfinder for more than 10 years, and was planning to retire within eight months, a U.S. Coast Guard report said.
Magistrate Judge Deborah M. Smith imposed sentence on June 15 in federal court in Anchorage.
Monsen was sentenced to 36 months of probation with the first six months to be spent in home confinement, plus a $15,000 fine and 50 hours of community service, said the press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The sentence was the result of Monsen’s guilty plea and conviction for violating the federal Clean Water Act, prosecutors said.
“Judge Smith commented that the defendant’s conduct was grossly negligent and that it was important to send a strong message to deter such negligent conduct,” the press release said. “In determining an appropriate sentence, Judge Smith also took into account that as a result of his conduct Monsen no longer had a pilot’s license and was no longer employed as a captain.”
Disastrous sequence of events Prosecutors said that after scouting for ice, Monsen anticipated clearance to return to port and set an autopilot course back to Valdez, manually bypassing a couple of preprogrammed GPS way points.
The tug continued to travel slowly southeast, however, soon putting Bligh Reef between the tug and town.
Finally, the tug crew was released from ice duty.
Monsen then placed both engines full ahead, and engaged the autopilot.
“Monsen did not chart his position, or attempt to determine his exact location via GPS or any other method,” prosecutors said. “As a result, when Monsen engaged this course, he did not know the location of the Pathfinder, was unaware that the vessel was 1.5 miles due south of Bligh Reef, and did not recognize that he had just set a course that was taking the Pathfinder directly into the reef.”
The tug’s second mate also was on the bridge.
As the tug headed toward the reef, Monsen checked his email and schedules and played games such as hearts on a computer, his back to the forward bridge window, the Coast Guard and prosecutors said.
“Had Monsen not deleted the two way points earlier in the evening, the Pathfinder would have steered northwest, back to these points, and clear of Bligh Reef,” prosecutors said.
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