On Dec. 8, 2004, while bound for Asia with a cargo of soybeans, the M/V Selendang Ayu ran aground off the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. Six of Ayu’s 26 crew members died during the rescue effort. At the time of the wreck, the 738-foot cargo vessel was carrying about 483,000 gallons of intermediate fuel oil and 21,000 gallons of diesel fuel. Within days, it split in half, coming to rest in a remote area between Skan Bay and Spray Capeshore of Unalaska Island. Before long, the Ayu would spill most of its contents into the environment.

Some of the lands in the area of the Ayu oil spill fall under the management of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. The local shoreline habitat of sheltered, rocky shores and gravel beaches is rich in fish and wildlife resources. Its inhabitants include sea otters (a population the Service, at the time, had proposed to list as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act and has since listed); threatened Steller’s eiders; and many other species of birds, marine mammals, and fish.

In response to the spill, Service biologists lead wildlife response efforts under an Incident Command Structure that included representatives of the shipping company, the state of Alaska and other federal agencies. The joint effort to limit damage to local resources and to people dependent upon them continued through the 2004-2005 holidays and well into 2006. Ultimately, the Selendang Ayu would spill approximately 354,000 gallons of oil into the surrounding waters. Environmental assessment teams at the time determined some 71 miles of shoreline required additional cleanup. In addition to releasing its fuel, the grounded vessel released its entire cargo, spilling thousands of metric tons of soybeans into the Bering Sea.

Harsh weather, high seas, short daylight hours, and rugged coastlines all contributed to the danger and difficulty of the response effort, and to the task of Service Law Enforcement personnel investigating the incident. The work resulted in the collection of more than 600,000 bags of oily solid waste consisting of vegetation, wrack, sand/gravel, and driftwood; more than 1,700 bird carcasses; six otter carcasses; and 144,931 gallons of oil, diesel and oil/water mixture. The total loss of marine life, in the form of intertidal resources, fish, birds, and marine mammals, will never be known.

The Service’s criminal investigation, however, has reached a conclusion. On August 14, 2007, the vessel’s owner, IMC Shipping Co. of Singapore, announced it would plead guilty to violations of the Refuse Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The allegations against IMC stem from the illegal discharge of oil and soy beans and the killing of thousands of migratory birds that resulted from the grounding of the N/V Selendang Ayu. The resulting criminal penalty will include $2 million for the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund, $3 million to support risk-assessment studies for the “Great Circle” shipping route through the Aleutian Islands, and $1 million to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for the purpose of funding projects upon Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge.

Yet to be determined are the civil costs associated with restoring natural resources. Natural-resource trustees from Interior, NOAA, the Alaska State Departments of Fish and Game, Environmental Conservation, Natural Resources, and Law are assessing these costs. Trustees will identify appropriate restoration actions based on the damage assessment and recovery efforts they conducted for the spill. Restorative actions will include those necessary to return injured resources and services to the levels that existed prior to the spill and to compensate the public for losses occurring between the date of the spill and the point at which such resources have fully recovered.

There can be no good end to a tragedy of this magnitude, especially one that resulted in the loss of human life. Thanks to the work of Service law enforcement officers, refuge staff, biologists, and their many partners, however, much of the damage to the resources of Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge and to the people who depend upon those resources will, eventually, be repaired.

Bruce Woods is chief of Media Relations for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 7.