Global Stops Fuel Release of MV Sanctuary off Orcas Island in Washington

The MV Sanctuary was a 46’ wooden trawler originally built in the 1930s for the Canadian fishing industry and later converted to a pleasure boat. On June 5^th, 2018 Sanctuary caught fire in Judd Cove off Orcas Island in Washington; no one was on board at the time. Several agencies responded to the vessel fire, including San Juan County Emergency Management, San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, San Juan Island Fire Department, Orcas Island Fire and Rescue and the US Coast Guard. Despite the responders’ attempts, the vessel took on water and sank in approximately 20 fsw, releasing diesel fuel into the cove.

The San Juan Islands are a particularly sensitive ecological area; Sanctuary sank in an eelgrass bed, and adjacent to the Indian Island Marine Health Observatory. The Island Oil Spill Association (IOSA) deployed boom around the vessel to contain leaking diesel. The Washington Department of Ecology performed overflights to monitor the sheen, look for oiled marine life and determine the impact to the shoreline.

SCAA member Global was contacted by the US Coast Guard to stop the fuel release from the vessel; a crew mobilized out of Global’s Seattle office to defuel the vessel. Global used the Pintail landing craft to transport a vacuum truck from Anacortes to the wreck site. An estimated 50-gallons of diesel had already been released when Sanctuary sank; the dive team removed an additional 250-gallons of fuel from the sunken vessel.

Once defueling operations were complete, the Washington Department of Natural Resources contracted Global to remove and demolish the vessel. A derrick barge from Manson was brought in to lift the Sanctuary; after divers rigged her for removal she was lifted onto a barge from Island Tug & Barge. The vessel was transported to a shipyard and all remaining hazardous materials were removed; once released by the authorities the vessel was broken down for recycling and proper disposal.