On December 23, 2009, Crowley Maritime Corporation’s tugboat Pathfinder was serving as an ice scout vessel in Prince William Sound. At about 6:18 pm that evening, the 136-foot vessel ran aground on Bligh Reef, the same reef on which the Exxon Valdez grounded twenty years earlier. The Pathfinder grounding investigation released by Coast Guard showed areas of concern in the operation of the tug.
The grounding of the Pathfinder caused extensive damage to its hull opening two fuel tanks along its centerline. Crowley initially estimated that 6,410 gallons of diesel fuel were released into the water, based on its estimate of the amount of fuel in the tanks at the time of the incident. However, when the vessel was subsequently dry-docked, 1,088 gallons of diesel were found remaining in the damaged fuel tanks, resulting in Crowley reducing its estimate of the amount spilled to 5,322 gallons.
The Coast Guard’s official report on the Pathfinder incident, released in May of this year, lists a number of factors that contributed to the event. At the root of these factors lies a story of inattention and complacency on the part of the tug’s master and crew, resulting in their failure to follow standard procedures, poor communication between them, and a loss of situational awareness. Read More
