Petro Marine Services tank farm in Skagway. (Mike Swasey photo)
One of Petro Marine Services’ fuel tanks in Skagway failed on Thursday night releasing hundreds of gallons of #1 and #2 fuel into the company’s containment area on the Ore Peninsula. Company representatives said the containment measures worked as planned and no fuel escaped except for a fine mist that was blown south in heavy winds.
A little before 9 pm on Thursday night Skagway Police Officer Rick Ackerman was on his normal patrol route when he noticed an unusual mist as he drove past Petro Marine Services tank farm. He smelled fuel and immediately contacted Plant Manager, Tim Cochran.
Cochran, along with several employees, responded immediately. He said the containment measures worked as designed.
“There’s no danger to health or people. It’s all contained. We have that impervious liner, it held everything that came out of the tank, and most all of it is back into the tanks,” Cochran told KHNS on Friday.
The containment area has walls that are several feet high around the tank farm and is coated with an ultra-thick epoxy liner that fuel will not seep through. It is designed to contain 110% of the contents of the largest tank on the premises. Skagway police noticed a pool of fuel within that containment area that appeared to be a couple of feet deep at its deepest point on Thursday night. By Friday afternoon most of that fuel had been secured in another tank.
With winds gusting up to nearly 30 mph on Thursday, it’s difficult to determine how far the fuel mist traveled. The smell of diesel near the tank farm was thick as of Friday afternoon.
The leak was likely caused by a valve that may have malfunctioned though company representatives are still investigating the cause. Cochran says the fuel is probably still usable.
The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation says soil from the surrounding area will be tested and remediated if necessary. Petro Marine Services was closed on Friday but plans to reopen by Saturday for regular business.
