Fuel Convoy Reaches Nome

Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Kip Wadlow briefed by telephone a short time ago. The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy and the Russian tanker TV Renda have arrived off the city of Nome, Alaska. Their 300-mile journey through the polar icepack took six days longer than originally anticipated.

Wadlow described the primary issue at this time as safety. The depth of the water offshore requires that the Healy and the Renda move very slowly towards the harbor at Nome. The two ships' captains will determine where to anchor. The Chief pointed out that the Healy and the Renda have to be able to leave after the fuel is offloaded so the Anchorage may be further out than first planned.

Air Station Kodiak is providing air support for Coast Guard operations in Nome. A C-130 aircraft and an MH-65 helicopter are being used. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has sent ice experts, Wadlow stated, to analyze satellite imagery to predict ice conditions and movement. The University of Alaska has a team in Nome using two state of the art drones to image the ice in the harbor area and just offshore.

Coast Guard Lt. Nicole Auth discussed the safety zone around the operation in a telephone interview. While much of the zone has been laid out, until the Renda anchors the final portion remains undefined. The Coast Guard is urging the public to respect the safety zone for its own safety and that of the crews of the two ships. The ice in that vicinity may be broken and unstable.

Denise Michels, mayor of Nome, expressed her "heartfelt thanks" to the crew of the Healy and the rest of the people working on this mission. She told me by telephone that the city has received many e-mails of support from all over the world. The City's Public Works people cleared the snow from the causeway and built a snow ramp to allow the hoses from the TV Renda to reach the unloading pipes. The ramp is necessary because the fuel is being unloaded by hose from offshore and the hoses must come up and over the ice to the fuel station on the causeway.

Michels spoke of the unusual nature of this event. The city has plans and procedures in place for normal fuel deliveries, by barge tied to the causeway. This event has required many of the same processes under winter weather conditions. The fuel response equipment had to be prepared. The city's harbormaster returned to the city from his winter home. The mayor told me that without this shipment, supplies of gasoline and low grade diesel fuel would run low in March.