COURTESY OF U.S. COAST GUARD 14TH DISTRICT The ship Casitas, stuck in four to 11 feet of water, is listing to its port side after it was grounded last Saturday at Pearl and Hermes Atoll.

Seals near wreck site
reported free of oil

A grounded ship that has leaked fuel in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands is in prime Hawaiian monk seal habitat, but scientists have not seen any endangered animals with oil on them.

Within three miles of where the ship Casitas was grounded early last Saturday, there are an estimated 200 adult monk seals and 30 to 40 young pups, said John Naughton, a spokesman for the National Marine Fisheries Service, which has jurisdiction to protect monk seals in the ocean.

Scientists studying the seals at summer camps on the remote islands have not reported any sign of pollution from the 145-foot ship reaching the animals, Naughton said yesterday at a multiagency news conference about rescue efforts.

In daily flights over Pearl and Hermes Atoll, Coast Guard staff have not reported any sheen on the water to indicate possible petroleum leakage since Sunday, when a 500-yard sheen was reported.

Now that the 23 people who were aboard the Casitas have been rescued, the top priority is to try to keep the 32,000 gallons of fuel and oil aboard from leaking further, representatives of the Coast Guard and other federal agencies said yesterday.

"So far, so good," said Coast Guard Capt. Manson Brown, on-scene coordinator of the rescue effort.

Attempts to remove the fuel from the Casitas to the Coast Guard Cutter Walnut, which arrived at the scene early yesterday, could begin as soon as today, Brown said. But how long it takes depends on several factors, including the weather, he said.

If all goes well, the fuel and oil could be removed in several days, Brown said. But getting the ship off the reef could take a month to 45 days.

The Casitas is stuck in four to 11 feet of water and listing to its port side, said Gary "Skip" Naftel, agent for Casitas owner Fishing Vessel Northwind Inc.

The Casitas is under contract with the National Marine Fisheries Service as a platform for its annual cleanup of marine debris in the Northwestern Islands.