The following is the text of a press release issued by the Washington State Department of Ecology:
(BELLINGHAM, Wash.) — The state Department of Ecology and U.S. Coast Guard continue to look into what caused a 560-foot ship at a log dock in Tacoma’s Hylebos Waterway to list about 8 degrees. The ship’s crew has returned the ship to upright. It appears the list was caused by cargo loading and ballast distribution.
Initial conclusions were that the ship may have touched bottom during low tide. But after gathering more information about operations performed just prior to the ship beginning to list, and after a dive team inspected the hull Tuesday night, investigators determined the ship remained floating throughout the incident.
Divers from Global Diving and Salvage reported seeing no damage to the hull. Divers are looking at the hull today during daylight.
None of the estimated 108,000 gallons of fuel onboard the ship spilled. Boom was placed around the ship as a precaution.
The ship began to list about noon Tuesday, Jan. 25, while it was being loaded with logs bound for Shanghai, China.
