By Margaret Bauman
Alaska Journal of Commerce

Owners of a Singapore freighter that ran aground in fishing waters off of Unalaska Island, and killed several thousand migratory birds, have pleaded guilty and sentenced to pay a $10 million fine.

The owner of the Selendang Ayu, the IMC Shipping Co. of Singapore, pleaded guilty Aug. 22 in Anchorage to two violations of the Refuse Act for the illegal discharge of oil and soy beans and one count of violation of the Migratory Bird Treat Act, for killing thousands of migratory birds.

The December 2004 grounding of the Selendang Ayu resulted in closure of local fisheries for tanner crab, pollock and halibut for nearly a year, and also posed a threat, at the time, to major commercial fisheries in the Bering Sea.

The Selendang Ayu left Tacoma, Wash., on its way to China when it experienced mechanical problems. Crewmembers shut down the ship’s engines as they attempted repairs. As the freighter drifted toward Unalaska Island, crewmen were unable to restart the engine. The ship grounded just off Spray Cape and broke apart.

U.S. District Court Judge Ralph Beistline, in Anchorage, accepted terms of the plea agreement.

IMC Shipping was sentenced to pay a criminal penalty including $4 million in community service, of which $3 million will be used to assess risks for shipping hazards where the Selendang Ayu ran aground, plus $1 million for the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge.

IMC also was sentenced to three years probation, with a special condition that an audit of IMC’s maintenance program be conducted.

The Selendang AYU, a 738-foot freighter ran aground on Dec. 8, 2004, and broke in two on the north side of Unalaska Island.  

The crew shut down its engine after discovering a crack in its No. 3 cylinder liner. It could have continued operating with the other five but had to shut down the engine to make repairs.

Investigators concluded that the liner cracked because of improper maintenance and inappropriate operation of the engine, which was aggravated by predicted stormy seas.

"The United States believes that thermal loading caused the cylinder crack and that the thermal loading was caused by improper maintenance including the failure to adequately clean and seal the cylinders," the Department of Justice said. "This problem was exacerbated by the mal-adjustment of the engine's variable injection timing and unaddressed problems with the turbo chargers."

DOJ officials also said when the ship encountered the stormy weather, the strain on the engine from trying to maintain speed in gale-force winds and 30-foot seas brought the engine to the breaking point.

After the shutdown, the engine did not have adequate compression to restart, investigators concluded, because of the poor state of repair of all the cylinders and the cold weather.

There were no tugboats with adequate towing capacity to keep the freighter from grounding.

IMC representatives deny the company was negligent. According to the company, at the time of the accident, all recommended maintenance and inspections had been carried out according to manufacturer's recommendations. The vessel had a full complement of spare parts when it left Washington state.

Vessel records and crew testimony demonstrated that the crew had conducted a detailed maintenance check and thorough inspection of the main engine pistons and cylinders when the vessel departed, the company said.

The ship foundered in the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, premier nesting habitat for North America seabirds. Most would have been absent in December, but crested auklets, which overwinter offshore, may have been in bays near the wreck seeking shelter from the storm, according to IMC.

Fisheries Makushin Bay and Skan Bay were closed from late December of that year through October 2005. The guideline harvest level for the tanner crab fishery that would have taken place during that period was 171,000 pounds, according to officials with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

The area closure also halted harvesters who normally would have been fishing for Pacific cod and halibut.

Alaska state statutes allow fisheries officials to close specific areas to fishing when there is a threat of contamination of stocks by oil.

The Selendang Ayu spilled about 340,000 gallons of bunker fuel, and dumped 66,000 tons of soybeans into the Bering Sea within the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. Several thousand migratory birds died both as a result of the oil and from eating the soybeans.

Subsequent efforts of the U.S. Coast Guard to rescue the crew of the Selendang Ayu resulted in the loss of a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter, when it was struck during the storm by a 30-foot wave.  Six crewmembers aboard the Selendang Ayu died in the crash. IMC paid more than $100 million in cleanup costs.

“Accordingly, the total criminal penalty of $10 million is necessary as this substantial dollar amount adequately reflects the seriousness of these strict liability offenses,” said U.S. Attorney Nelson Cohen.

The decision of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to close Makushin Bay and Skan Bay to fishing came on the eve of the January openings of all major fisheries in the Bering Sea.

Makushin Bay and Skan Bay were reopened for commercial fishing only after 97 of 123 areas required for cleanup were cleaned and the rest were believed not to pose a threat at that stage to marine environment, fisheries officials said.  

A subsequent stock assessment survey in the summer of 2005 showed no visible oil on harvested fish, crab or fishing gear and officials did not feel any remaining sources of oil would pose a threat to the fishery, said Forrest Bowers, area management biologist for shellfish at Unalaska.

Associated Press writer Dan Joling contributed to this story.