Ship that grounded on Kodiak is here for repair
The 174-foot U.S. Army landing craft Monterrey is at Seward Ship’s Drydock where it is expected to stay for 30-45 days for repairs to its hull. The Monterrey was heading for Western Alaska, on its way to build the new village site of Mertavic, when it hit Humpback Rock, a charted hazard off Kodiak Harbor June 8. The landing craft was filled with heavy construction equipment that would help rebuild and move Newtok, a village on Nelson Island, which was becoming reclaimed by the river. The Monterrey was deliberately beached on Puffin Island, after hitting the rock, to help contain a spill of an estimated 5,000-12,000 gallons of diesel fuel, coming from two ruptured tanks. No damage to the environment or to wildlife was reported following an extensive containment/cleanup operation from Kodiak. The village construction season was cut short, delaying the Yu’pik villages’ move by a year.