Drifting tanker may Coast Guard officials are expected to make a decision by tomorrow on whether to sink the crippled oil tanker Insiko 1907, home to Forgea, the castaway dog that continues to elude rescuers.
have to be sunk
A tug crew is expected to remove
the dog and body aboard the shipBy Rosemarie Bernardo
rbernardo@starbulletin.com"We're definitely leaning toward sinking the vessel. It's certainly still under consideration of what we're going to do," said Lt. DesaRae Atnip, spokeswoman of the U.S. 14th Coast Guard District.
Meanwhile in Taiwan, the dog's owner, Chung Chen-po, told the United Daily News that he reluctantly left the 2-year-old dog aboard the ship after a rescuer told him he could not bring Forgea into the lifeboat with him.
Chung, who has returned to his home in Kaohsiung port in Taiwan, said Forgea -- which means which means fortune in Mandarin -- was "small but could be very fierce."
"I wish I could fly to Hawaii right away and tell Forgea that you were the bravest on the ship," he said in Thursday's newspaper. The paper said news reports have mistaken Chung for captain of the disabled tanker, pointing out that he was fondly called the captain because of his seniority.
On April 2 the cruise ship Norwegian Star rescued 11 crewmen from the tanker Insiko 1907 about 330 miles south of Molokai after it had been crippled by an engine room fire that killed one crew member.
Forgea and the body of the crewman were left on board, and the ship has been drifting ever since.
A spokeswoman for Norwegian Cruise Lines said today that the company stands by its original statement that the captain of the Norwegian Star did not know a dog was onboard the cargo ship and if he had been aware the dog would have been transported to safety.
"Getting the dog, getting the remains off the vessel -- they are very high concerns for us," Atnip said last night.
The Coast Guard hired the American Marine Corp. to take control of the Indonesian tanker because it poses a potential risk of running aground on Johnston Island. The Johnston Atoll is a national wildlife refuge that includes shorebirds, turtles and coral reefs.
According to Capt. Gilbert Kanazawa of the Coast Guard, the amount of money available from the Federal Pollution Fund to cover costs for the operation was increased to $250,000 from $25,000.
As of 4 p.m. yesterday, the vessel, carrying more than 60,000 gallons of diesel fuel, was 182 nautical miles east of Johnston Island and drifting west.
The tugboat, American Rescue, is expected to reach the vessel tomorrow. Crew members plan to make an assessment of the vessel's condition and location to determine whether the Insiko 1907 should be towed or scuttled.
Officials also will attempt to save Forgea by luring it into a cage with a mechanical dog. Crew members have also been hired to retrieve the body of a crewman killed in the March 13 fire.
Earlier in the week, Forgea hid in the lower deck of the vessel after fishermen attempted to rescue her. Coast Guard officials said a C-130 plane flew over the Insiko 1907 yesterday, but there was no sighting of Forgea.
Atnip said the Coast Guard was swamped with hundreds of calls and e-mails by 9 a.m. yesterday after Martha Armstrong, vice president of the Humane Society of the United States, thought the tugboat planned to sink the vessel while Forgea was aboard.
"There was miscommunication. ... They assumed the worst," Atnip said.
Coast Guard officials assured callers they were misinformed by the Humane Society. But society officials have since claimed their "campaign" caused the Coast Guard to change their plans.
"That was never the plan. ... We don't intend to sink the Insiko with Forgea aboard. We're going to make every effort to get the dog off," Atnip added.
John Naughton, Pacific islands environmental coordinator for the National Marine Fisheries Service, recommended the Coast Guard tow the vessel downwind of Johnston Island and sink it in about 15,000 feet of water southwest of the wildlife refuge.
"That way, if they sink her, if any oil comes up, it would drift away from the island from the sensitive coral reef areas," Naughton said.
Atnip said the Coast Guard is not sure how it would sink the tanker.
Naughton said he and others from the Oceania Regional Response Team are against the vessel being towed to Johnston Island because of the possibility of the tanker sinking inside the atoll and affecting seabirds, turtles and coral reefs.
"She's a burnt-out hull," said Naughton. "We're trying to minimize any potential damage in this situation."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.