Fuel

Fuel is flowing to the city of Nome, as a Russian tanker began offloading more than 1.3 million gallons of petroleum products Monday evening in a breakthrough winter fuel delivery to the iced-in port. Earlier Monday, crews worked on laying out two hoses from the tanker. One of those hoses was hooked up shortly before sunset at about 5 p.m., and the Renda began pumping gasoline into Nome's storage tanks. Those tanks were supposed to be filled last year, but winter storms kept barges from making their final deliveries.

More than 20,000 gallons of fuel were spilled this week at a tank farm near Aniak, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation. DEC estimates that 23,000 gallons of Jet-A fuel were spilled from a tank at Crowley Petroleum Services’ Lower Tank Farm, about one mile west of Aniak, between noon Monday and 12:15 p.m. Tuesday, when the spill was discovered. Officials say a valve found partially open on a 220,000-gallon bulk fuel tank has been closed, and response contractors are pumping spilled fuel into a 33,000-gallon tank.

by Megan Baldino Thursday, February 18, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Two new reports came to some of the same conclusions about why gasoline and heating fuel prices are so high in Rural Alaska. One report was done by the Department of Law which looked at prices in the Bush and the other is a similar study done by the Institute of Social and Economic Research. The Attorney General's key findings include: High wholesale prices in Rural Alaska appear to be driven by high delivery, storage and logistical costs.

by The Associated Press Friday, July 30, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The Coast Guard says all fuel has been removed from a grounded fishing vessel in Alaska's Prince William Sound. The Coast Guard say the Seattle-based Cape Cross had a capacity of 3,000 gallons, but was not full when it tipped on its side in Main Bay on Monday. Crews have removed 1,200 gallons of fuel from the 100-foot vessel. Another 600 gallons were recovered from the surrounding water by skimming and using absorbent and boom.

Emergency services responded Friday night to a hit-and-run accident in which a driver knocked over a fuel pump at a Chevron gas station in Spenard. Anchorage Police Department Sgt. Michael Kerle says shortly before 6 p.m., a truck driven by 41-year-old John Hoff spun out of control then hit and knocked the gas pump onto the ground, slamming it into a nearby minivan. “I just heard the car hit the gas pump – boom! And he ran away,” said the minivan’s driver, Boun Thanh Kanhalikham.

The Russian tanker heading to the ice-locked community of Nome to deliver fuel was forced to turn back to Dutch Harbor Wednesday evening due to a maintenance alarm. The Renda had departed Dutch Harbor earlier in the day to make the historic journey, but Mark Smith with Vitus Marine LLC, the company that hired the Renda for the fuel delivery, says the decision was made to turn back for a valve replacement on the vessel. Smith says it is expected to head out of Dutch Harbor at one o'clock Thursday morning.

The National Park Service says it has completed a five-year-long project to remove heavy debris from areas it oversees in Northwest Alaska -- including more than two dozen military fuel pods, mostly from F-4 Phantom II fighter jets. According to NPS spokesperson John Quinley, the aluminum pods -- which measure about 15 feet long and weigh about 450 pounds each -- were dropped during the 1970s by jets training over the western Brooks Range. A similar fuel pod from an F-4 was found last month at the Port of Anchorage and removed by Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson personnel.

by Maria Downey Thursday, May 6, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Residents in McGrath are relieved now that they can get gas for $5.97 a gallon after a local distributor's costs jumped to more than $9 overnight last week. Mayor Dustin Parker says the city was able to provide fuel at a lower cost by flying it in itself after getting business and fuel distributor licenses from the state. Last week gas shot up to $9.20 a gallon, though it has since come down more than 70 cents after an accounting error was discovered.

by Channel 2 News staff Tuesday, January 12, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- As much as 142,800 gallons of No. 2 diesel has been spilled from the Adak Petroleum bulk fuel facility at Adak Island, the Department of Environmental Conservation says. Gary Folley with DEC in Soldotna said about 1,000 gallons reached the water, and officials on scene are trying to determine where the remaining diesel went. One theory is that it's residing in an underground oil plume. "That's a substantial amount to make it into the water so we want to make sure that best efforts are to recover as much of that as possible," said Gary Folley, the DEC Coordinator.

by Channel 2 News staff Tuesday, January 12, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Gov. Sean Parnell is calling for a two-year suspension of Alaska's motor fuels tax. The tax -- which applies to gasoline, diesel, and marine and aviation fuel -- was temporarily suspended in 2008 as part of an energy assistance bill. Parnell wanted the suspension extended when it expired in September. "Alaskans continue to pay some of the highest fuel prices in the nation," Parnell said in a release.

Alaska State Troopers say a trucker wasn't injured Friday morning when his double-tanker tractor-trailer went into a Richardson Highway ditch, causing a minor fuel spill. According to AST spokesperson Beth Ipsen, 34-year-old Robert Reid of Wasilla was at the wheel of a 2007 Peterbilt truck operated by Big State Logistics, which was headed north on the Richardson near Mile 236. "The driver said he had a sneezing fit," Ipsen said. "He drifted into a (northbound-side) ditch and overturned.

The Alaskan Brewing Company announced Tuesday that left over beer by-product is being used as a fuel source. The Juneau brewer uses wet grain, known as "spent grain" left over from the brewing process, as the sole fuel source for its steam boiler. The company claims it's the first brewery in the world to use the by-product as a fuel source. A company representative says it reduces the company's fuel oil consumption in brewhouse operations by 60 to 70 percent. The brewery says over the next 10 years it expects to save nearly 1 point 5 million gallons of oil by using the spent grain as a fuel source.

A fish processing ship sitting in the Kodiak harbor, spilled an estimated 150 gallons of diesel fuel on Saturday. The U.S. Coast Guard's Marine Safety Detachment responded to the leak from the vessel Pacific Producer. Officials with the Kodiak harbormaster, Kodiak Fire Department and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation were also part of the response. Petty Officer Guy Hughey said the fuel leaked inside of the ship before a portion of it was pumped into the harbor.

Alaska State Troopers are investigating a weekend shooting in Grayling that caused an Anvik man to be medevaced to Anchorage, calling alcohol a “significant contributing factor” but not immediately identifying any suspects. According to a Monday AST dispatch, Bethel troopers learned about the shooting at 7:10 a.m. Saturday, accompanying a medevac flight to Grayling to investigate while a village public safety officer also headed to the village from Anvik. Responders learned that Chaz Walker, 19, was shot at about 6:30 a.m. in a local residence, where at least two adults and their small children were also present.

The Anchorage Chamber of Commerce met Monday afternoon to discuss the economic impact of the recent EPA designation of Alaska's coast as an Emission Control Area, or ECA. Within the ECA, marine vessels, including freight ships, cruise ships and oil tankers are restricted to use fuel with 1 percent sulfur content as of Aug. 1. Beginning on Jan. 1, 2015, the limit will be further reduced to 0.1 percent.   Bruce Bustamante, of Holland America Cruise Line and Princess Tours, spoke to the Chamber of Commerce about the impact the new fuel retrictions would have on the cruise industry in Alaska as well as general tourism.

The National Park Service says it has completed a five-year-long project to remove heavy debris from areas it oversees in Northwest Alaska -- including more than two dozen military fuel pods, mostly from F-4 Phantom II fighter jets. According to NPS spokesperson John Quinley, the aluminum pods -- which measure about 15 feet long and weigh about 450 pounds each -- were dropped during the 1970s by jets training over the western Brooks Range. A similar fuel pod from an F-4 was found last month at the Port of Anchorage and removed by Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson personnel.

A fuel pod from an F-4 Phantom II jet fighter was recovered as scheduled Tuesday morning from the Port of Anchorage by Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson crews, according to base officials. JBER spokesperson John Pennell says the recovery of the 20-foot-long tank, recently discovered by port workers about 75 feet from the facility, began at about 1 a.m. Tuesday. Crews laid down plywood boards as work platforms atop mud near the cracked tank as they prepared for a low tide. They then used a saw to cut it in half and high-pressure water hoses to clear it of mud and silt inside, which could have resulted in a tenfold increase of the tank's own 250-pound weight.

Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson will send crews to the Port of Anchorage early Tuesday morning to recover a fuel pod from an F-4 Phantom II fighter jet recently discovered in the area. JBER spokesperson John Pennell says port personnel found the cracked fuel pod, buried in mud and silt, about 75 feet from a rocky bank at the facility. The 20-foot-long tank doesn't contain fuel and has an estimated weight of 250 pounds, but could weigh 10 times that if it's filled with additional mud and silt.

A fuel leak from a barge near Hoonah Wednesday morning may have spilled thousands of gallons of gasoline, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation. A DEC statement says the fuel barge Leo, operated by Kirby Offshore Services, was under tow earlier Wednesday by the tug Altair near Port Frederick, about one nautical mile from Hoonah. At about 10:30 a.m. Altair crew members a sheen in the water, which was traced back to a two-inch fracture between the raised cargo tank bulkhead and the deck of the barge.

Warning of higher shipping costs for Alaskans, the state has filed a suit challenging Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's acceptance of new Environmental Protection Agency fuel standards for cargo ships and cruise ships. Attorney General Michael Geraghty says the revised EPA standards will require all cargo ships and cruise ships operating in Alaska to use hard-to-obtain, specially blended low-sulfur fuel beginning in August. “There are reasonable and equally effective alternatives for the Secretary and the EPA to consider which would still protect the environment but dramatically reduce the severe impact these regulations will have on Alaskan jobs and families,” Geraghty said in a statement.