UPDATED, Sunday 2:30 p.m.
The Coast Guard is working with the owner of the F/V Bald Eagle II and in coordination with state and local partners to mitigate impacts to the environment after the shrimp trawler ran aground off Southern Shores on Tuesday.
Moran Environmental Recovery has been contracted by the vessel owner to facilitate the removal of hazardous substances.
Currently, 6,500 gallons of diesel fuel and 1,000 gallons of oily water mixture have been removed from the vessel. The majority of fuel on board has been recovered and focus has shifted to finding remaining pockets of oily water in the fuel tanks.
All oil and hazardous substances are expected to be removed today.
After the product in the fuel tanks is recovered, operations will shift to towing the vessel off the beach.
A towing vessel from Charleston, South Carolina is currently enroute. The owner has made plans to have the vessel towed to Hampton, Virginia for repairs.
The Town of Southern Shores asks onlookers to give crews plenty of room to safely do their work.
The F/V Bald Eagle II first ran into engine trouble Tuesday around 7:30 a.m. and then a net snagged the propeller, the crew dropped anchor but were unable to prevent the vessel from reaching the shoreline off Dogwood Drive.
Four crewmembers on the boat were airlifted to safety by the Coast Guard after it grounded inside the outer sandbar.
The boat drifted southward to near Dolphin Run and then came to rest near Trout Run in the vicinity “Y” intersection of N.C. 12 and Ocean Trail by midday where it has been located ever since.
A salvage team and another trawler, the Capt. Malc, tried to refloat the vessel during high tide overnight, but the tow rope broke and their efforts were for naught.
Jennifer Thompson sent us video Friday morning of the trawler sitting on its keel in the lapping waves.
Thompson said she had a conversation with someone from the company that owns the Bald Eagle II who said the Coast Guard has given them until this afternoon to get the vessel freed before they will have to step in.
Barbara Ann Bell, administrator of the OBX Sunrise page on Facebook, shot video Thursday morning of the Bald Eagle II now facing with its bow towards the beach, and a line from the ship attached to an excavator.
Video shot Tuesday by Kristine Kiousis showed a Coast Guard Jayhawk helicopter from Station Elizabeth City lifting a rescue swimmer and a crewmember from the F/V Bald Eagle II out of the surf.
Video courtesy Katie Morgan:
“We are coordinating with the vessel’s owner with a plan for freeing the vessel,” said Petty Officer First Class Stephen Lehmann with U.S. Coast Guard Fifth District Public Affairs.
Video courtesy Frankie Powers:
The grounded shrimp trawler has drifted to south of Trout Run in Southern Shores near the "Y" on NC 12 pic.twitter.com/BiiyvzGfoY
— Sam Walker OBX Today🎙📻📰 (@SamWalkerOBX) December 7, 2021
5:30 p.m.: M/V Bald Eagle II has held position south of Trout Run in Southern Shores this afternoon, high tide is around 10 p.m. Once onshore flow weakens, should be able to get it towed out. pic.twitter.com/alBXQajTbM
— Sam Walker OBX Today🎙📻📰 (@SamWalkerOBX) December 8, 2021
The F/V Jonathan Ryan was able to be towed back to sea without incident later in the afternoon.
