Alaskan city of Nome still awaiting fuel
A 25-foot ice pressure ridge is blocking the entrance to the harbor of the iced-in city of Nome in western Alaska. The Coast Guard icebreaker, Healy and a Russian tanker, Renda have been stalled by Bering Sea ocean currents and thick ice. The tanker is carrying 1.3 million gallons of fuel for delivery to Nome, a city of about 3,500 people that missed its final pre-winter delivery of fuel by barge when a big storm swept western Alaska in the fall.
It is unclear whether conditions would allow the tanker and icebreaker to make significant progress later this week. The tanker was reported to be fewer than 100 miles from Nome after it went 53 miles on Monday. The Healy is creating a path for the 370-foot tanker in ice that is up to 3 feet thick.
exactAIS tracking of the Renda gradually reaching closer to Nome
|
Photo Courtesy of the Associated Press. The US Coast Guard the cutter Healy, left, breaks ice around the Russian tanker Renda Story courtesy of the DailyMail UK. For the full story, click here |