Some Good News from an Incident at Sitkalidak Island, near Kodiak, Alaska

NOVEMBER 8, 2021 ─ On November 1, 2021, the 84-foot fishing vessel Laura ran aground and capsized at Sitkalidak Island, near Kodiak, Alaska. The four-person crew abandoned ship and made it safely ashore and were rescued by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter.  But one member of the crew, Grace, the vessel’s puppy, was washed overboard and presumed lost.

Man climbing down a rocky sloe, holding a dog.
Grace, being held by one of her rescuers. Image credit: USCG

Thirty-six hours later, another Coast Guard helicopter crew monitoring the fuel spill from the F/V Laura noticed the dog stranded on a narrow beach near the wreck.  A rescue swimmer was able to grab the puppy off the beach. Grace is an eight-month-old, 80-pound pit bull/ black lab mix. Unfortunately, the ship is still on the beach. The Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment-Kodiak is working with the owner on a salvage plan for the vessel and monitoring cleanup efforts. 

OR&R's Emergency Response Division is helping by providing trajectories and fate analysis of the spilled diesel and advising on sensitive natural resources in the vicinity of the wreck. This helps us understand the potential impacts to sensitive natural resources in the vicinity of the wreck.  We coordinated with trust resource management agencies, on behalf of the Coast Guard, to evaluate the potential resources at risk and facilitated the Coast Guard's Endangered Species Act Emergency Section 7 consultation for responding to the diesel spill in order to minimize harm to listed species from response operations.

For further information, contact Catherine.Berg@noaa.gov or Doug.Helton@noaa.gov.

Vessel overturned with debris flowing into the water. Image credit: USCG
Aerial view of the wreck of the FV Laura. Image credit: USCG
Last updated Tuesday, November 8, 2022 1:42pm PST