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Grounded cargo vessel is pulled safely to port
Paul Russ, the cargo vessel that ran aground last week, sat safely with no reported damage at the Saipan seaport last Thursday night after being towed from the reef by tugboats belonging to the vessel’s representatives.
Captain James B. Pruett, U.S. Coast Guard Guam sector commander, called it a “successful effort” made possible through the cooperation of the vessel representatives, the government of the CNMI, and the Coast Guard.
He said the weather was cooperative during their operation.
With the boat in harbor, the Saipan seaport is now open, he said. Previously it had been closed due to unexploded ordnance found near the ship on Wednesday.
The previous 500-yard safety zone that limited vessels coming and leaving the port was reduced to a 250-yard zone on Friday, with all vessel passing required to go at slow speeds with no wake, according to Pruett.
He thanked the CNMI government and vessel representative for a “job done fast and a job done right.”
The successful efforts concluded three days’ worth of on-land and at-sea operations that began with the Russ’ grounding last Tuesday morning.
Led by the U.S. Coast Guard, the CNMI Department of Homeland Security, and vessel representatives, efforts were coordinated at a unified command post at the Commonwealth Ports Authority office, with CPA, the Department of Public Safety involved as well.
The Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality and the Division of Fish and Wildlife were the regulatory agencies involved to assess impact on marine and aquatic life.
Friday night’s effort was given the go-signal at the recommendation of the U.S. Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal team who did underwater assessment that day.
Poor weather conditions predicted that night pushed the operation forward, according to Marvin Seman, special assistant for the CNMI Department of Homeland Security.
As Seman predicted in an interview Friday, the unexploded ordnance did not prove to be a problem during the operation.
Both Pruett and Seman indicated the boat would be inspected at the harbor to gauge its stability.
