Tag: Renda

1.3 million gallons of fuel Crews began transferring 1.3 million gallons of fuel Monday from a Russian fuel tanker to the iced-in western Alaska city of Nome.The offloading began near sundown, said Stacey Smith of Vitus Marine, the fuel supplier that arranged to have the Russian tanker Renda and its crew deliver the gasoline and diesel fuel. The process began after crews safety-tested two transfer hoses with pressurized air.Earlier, crews laid the hoses along a stretch of Bering Sea ice. On Monday, they hooked the hoses to a pipeline that begins on a rock causeway 550 yards from the tanker, which is moored about half a mile offshore, said Jason Evans, board chairman of the Sitnasuak Native Corp.Sitnasuak owns the local fuel company, Bonanza Fuel, and has been working closely with Vitus Marine. The pipeline leads to storage tanks in town.Smith said the transfer began with one hose to see how the fuel flowed. She expected the second hose to begin flowing soon after.State officials said the transfer must start during daylight, but can continue in darkness. Nome has just five hours of daylight this time of year.The transfer could be finished within 36 hours if everything goes smoothly, but ...

A Coast Guard icebreaker and Russian tanker Renda

The Coast Guard Cutter Healy escorts the Russian-flagged tanker Renda A Coast Guard icebreaker and Russian tanker loaded with fuel for delivery to an iced-in Alaska city have been stalled by Bering Sea ocean currents and thick ice.The vessels could move forward five or six miles on Tuesday, but the strong currents pushed them back by about the same amount, said Mark Smith, the CEO of Vitus Marine, the company supplying the fuel."There was a lot of stop and go activity," he said Wednesday morning.The tanker is loaded with 1.3 million gallons of fuel for Nome, a city of about 3,500 people that missed its final pre-winter delivery of fuel by barge when a big storm swept western Alaska in the fall.It was unclear whether conditions would allow the tanker and icebreaker to make significant progress on Wednesday. The tanker was reported to be fewer than 100 miles from Nome after it went 53 miles on Monday.The icebreaker is creating a path for the 370-foot tanker in ice that is up to 3 feet thick.If successful, the shipment would mark the first time petroleum products have been delivered by sea to a Western Alaska community in winter.Jason Evans, chairman of ...