Barge Runs Aground Along North Slope

Associated Press

An ocean barge carrying oil field equipment has gone aground along Alaska’s North Slope and responders say the vessel emitted a light sheen in the Beaufort Sea. State environmental regulators say the barge has more than 1,700 gallons of diesel fuel on board. The vessel grounded after the wheelhouse broke loose and settled at the stern.

Tom DeRuyter with the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation says no one was injured in the mishap, but a small amount of fuel leaked from a tank. He says the valves on all the tanks were closed and the sheen dissipated. The barge ran aground about 40 miles west of Prudhoe Bay.

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