LAPUSH — The fishing boat that sank 13 miles off LaPush on Thursday has apparently stopped leaking diesel fuel in the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, the latest Coast Guard flyover revealed Monday.
The 80-foot vessel out of Bellingham, Vicious Fisher, had 3,800 gallons of diesel on board when it sank in as much as 400 feet of water.
A three-mile sheen — beginning one to two miles from where the boat went down and extending northwest — was seen during a Coast Guard flyover Saturday.
Subsequent flyovers took place Sunday and Monday.
“From the last point of origin, there was nothing to be seen,” said Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound spokesman Christopher Clark after Monday’s flyover.
Another flyover is planned for today, Clark said.
Coast Guard crews from LaPush and Port Angeles rescued five crew members before the boat sank. The captain had managed to cap the vents, trapping the fuel onboard, before he and the crew boarded a 47-foot motor lifeboat from Coast Guard Station Quillayute River.
An MH-65C Dolphin helicopter crew from Air Station/Sector Field Office Port Angeles was also at the scene.
Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary officials were concerned about diesel floating on the surface of the water because it can kill sea birds.
Sanctuary officials were not immediately available for comment on Monday night.
The sanctuary’s acting superintendent, George Galasso, has said that his office would investigate the possibility of a salvage operation.
The sanctuary extends from the mouth of the Strait of Juan de Fuca to northern Grays Harbor County and into the Pacific by as many as 50 miles.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
