An operation to deliver fuel to a remote Alaskan town made \"good progress\" Tuesday, officials said after a Russian ship made an unprecedented ice-breaker-assisted trip across the frozen Bering Sea.
The Russian tanker "Renda" began pumping fuel ashore late Monday in a meticulously planned operation, expected to last about two days, to deliver some 1.3 million gallons of fuel for the town\'s 3,500 residents,
By the middle of the day Tuesday everything was going smoothly through some 1,400 feet of 4-inch hose linking the boat -- locked into position in the ice some 460 yards from the fuel storage tanks.
"The weather in Nome continues to be favorable. We\'re continuing to offload with continuous monitoring for safety of the operation and making good progress," said Mark Smith of fuel delivery firm Vitus Marine.
"I am very pleased with the way it is going," he added, saying he hoped the transfer could be done by Wednesday evening.
"Nobody wants to give out time frames because we want to go along not based on speed, but based on safety. You could say at our current rate we hope to wrap it up and finish in about 48 hours," he added.
The Russian tanker had to slog through 480 kilometers (300 miles) of ice -- aided by the US icebreaker "Healy" -- before docking off the coast of Nome on Saturday.
After docking, the Coast Guard had to wait until the ice around the ship solidified in order to reach it with vehicles and hoses.
The remote town did not get its usual pre-winter oil delivery due to a storm in the fall, necessitating the complex operation.
A special waiver had to be granted to allow the Renda to head to the rescue, as under a 1920 law only US-owned and operated vessels are allowed to make such deliveries.
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