WARRENTON, Ore. — A Coast Guard Station Bellingham 45-foot Response Boat- Medium crew towed and safely moored the fishing vessel Arline at the Cap Sante Marina in Anacortes after receiving a report that vessel was aground in the Swinomish Channel Thursday evening.
A boarding was conducted by the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Adelie, an 87-foot patrol boat homeported in Port Angeles, Wash., revealing the master and crewman aboard the Arline to be intoxicated and the local police department took the master of the fishing vessel into custody.
Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound watchstanders received a call from the master of the Arline reporting the grounding near Anacortes. The Coast Guard Cutter Adelie was on a routine patrol at the time and was diverted to assist the crew of the grounded vessel.
Upon boarding the vessel, the Adelie crew suspected the master of the vessel was intoxicated and issued a field sobriety and breathalyzer test revealing a blood alcohol content level of .115, well over the legal limit in Washington State.
“Thanks to the crews of both Station Bellingham and the Coast Guard Cutter Adelie for making our local waterways safer,” said Captain Joe Raymond, Commanding Officer of Sector Puget Sound. “Boating while intoxicated is not only a danger to the crew of the vessel being operated, but it is endangers the lives of any boaters in the area.”
After the vessel was moored a light sheen was discovered coming from the Arline. Further inspection revealed a crack in the vessel's shaft packing causing oily water to be discharged overboard.
Containment boom has been applied around the vessel. A Coast Guard incident management team from Seattle is working with contractors to contain further pollution and develop a possible salvage plan for the vessel.
The Arline is a 50-foot fishing vessel homeported in Seattle and is reportedly carrying up to 150 gallons of diesel aboard. The Coast Guard is investigating the grounding.