ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A 554-foot freighter with 24 people aboard was disabled and drifting Tuesday north of the Aleutian Islands in the Bering Sea, according to the Coast Guard.
The Coast Guard in Juneau received a call from the freighter at 7:14 p.m. Monday reporting that both engines had quit and asking for assistance, said Lt. Herbert Law with the Coast Guard Command Center in Juneau. The freighter was 180 miles northeast of Attu.
The Thai-flagged freighter was on its way from Vancouver, B.C., to Japan when the problem arose, Law said. It is carrying 28,000 tons of copper concentrate and 760 metric tons of fuel. There were no reports it was leaking fuel or had spilled any of its cargo.
Law said the freighter and its crew were not in any immediate danger.
The Mathawee Naree was drifting Tuesday in a northwesterly direction, away from land.
Plans call for sending a C-130 airplane and a 378-foot Coast Guard cutter to evaluate the situation on the 33,000-ton ship.
The C-130 from Kodiak was expected to arrive late Tuesday.
“It is going to take a look at it and get Coast Guard eyes on scene and see how it is riding,” Law said.
The cutter, which was about 500 miles away on Tuesday, was expected to reach the scene by Thursday morning. It was diverted Monday night from Dutch Harbor.
The Coast Guard was talking with the ship’s crew about every 45 minutes and they reported everything was OK, Law said.
“It is not in distress,” he said.
Seas were about 20 feet and winds were 50 knots on Tuesday. Both were expected to ease in coming days.
“That is actually going to calm down in the next couple of days,” Law said.
Law says the ship’s owners and insurance underwriters also are arranging for a commercial tug. It was not known when the tug could be expected to reach the freighter.
In 2004, a Malaysia-flagged freighter that was carrying about 66,000 tons of soybeans to China lost power in the Aleutians. The Selendang Ayu drifted for two days before it split in two after grounding off Unalaska Island. The cargo of soybeans and about 335,000 gallons of oil spilled from the ship.
Six crew members died when a Coast Guard helicopter crashed during a rescue attempt.
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