During World War II, the 334-foot, 5,350-ton SS Coast Trader was hit by a torpedo and sank off the coast of Cape Flattery, Washington. Resting almost 500 feet below the surface, the Coast Trader has
During World War II, the 334-foot, 5,350-ton SS Coast Trader was hit by a torpedo and sank off the coast of Cape Flattery, Washington.
Resting almost 500 feet below the surface, the Coast Trader has an estimated 542 tons of heavy fuel oil remaining in the fuel tanks. The quantity onboard the Coast Trader is equivalent to 60% of the volume of fuel spilled into the Pacific Ocean near Grays Harbor by the barge Nestucca in 1988, which remains one of Washington’s largest and most damaging oil spills.
In collaboration with Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) began a comprehensive assessment of potential impacts from the Coast Trader’s fuel in the event that corrosion leads to a release of oil. As part of this assessment, the team used NOAA’s GNOME trajectory model for modeling potential spill paths and impacts to the coastline, as well as NOAA Office of Coast Survey’s West Coast Operational Forecast System, which provides water level, current, temperature, and salinity nowcast and forecast guidance.
The team ran approximately 400 spill scenarios, at random dates and times, to model potential paths and the impacts on the coastline. Using these model results,
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