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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 6, 2014
Vol. CXXIII, No. 151
OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE CITY OF TACOMA Devoted to the Courts, Real Estate, Finance, Industrial Activities, and Publication of Legal Notices
Published Published Since Since 1890 1890
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Helena Star
Wash. removes, scraps sunken ship from Tacoma’s Hylebos Waterway Posted online Mon., Aug. 4 Photos Courtesy Washington State Department of Ecology Officials at the Washington State Department of Natural Resources and the Washington State Department of Ecology confirmed Monday the 167-foot Helena Star, which sank in Tacoma's Hylebos Waterway 18 months ago, has been raised, patched, and towed to Seattle, where it is being scrapped and recycled. Escorted by the 62-foot landing craft Prudhoe Bay, the tug Red Bluff arrived in Tacoma late last month to tow the Helena Star out of the Hylebos Waterway, up Puget Sound, through the Ballard Locks in Seattle, and into Lake Union, where it was to be scrapped at the Stabbert Yacht & Ship drydock. Throughout the journey, a four-person crew remained onboard the Helena Star to monitor for water leaks and to assist with mooring lines. A team that included the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, Washington State Department of Ecology, U.S. Coast Guard, Tacoma Fire Department, and Global Diving and Salvage collaborated on the project. Work to remove the derelict vessel was postponed in January due to concerns over migrating salmon, as well as the time frame required for the Washington State Department of Natural Resources to select a contractor and obtain the necessary environmental permits to remove the derelict ship. Those concerns were resolved when a contractor was selected earlier this year, and the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife lifted restrictions on in-water work
TOP: The F/V Helena Star arrived at the Ballard Locks in Seattle last month en route to a scrap facility on Lake Union. The 167-foot ship sank in Tacoma's Hylebos Waterway 18 months ago. BELOW: The tug Red Bluff arrived in Tacoma last month to tow the Helena Star out of the Hylebos Waterway, up Puget Sound, through the Ballard Locks in Seattle, and into Lake Union, where it was to be scrapped at the Stabbert Yacht & Ship drydock. in July. The Helena Star was built in the mid-1940s, arrived in Seattle in 1978 after it was seized during an at-sea marijuana bust, and was moved to Tacoma three years ago after it was purchased by new owners, according
to Washington State Department of Ecology officials. In October, a contractor hired by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources removed the 130foot Golden West from the Hylebos Waterway. Both vessels were chained together when they began to sink on Jan. 25, 2013. "The sinking of the Helena Star shines a light on the continuing problem of derelict and abandoned vessels in Washington State," said Washington State Department of Natural Resources Aquatic Lands Division assistant manager David Palazzi. "We commend the federal, state, local, public, and private partners that successfully brought an end to this unfortunate and environmentally destructive inCONTINUED cident, and we will continue to ON PAGE 2 work with partners to deal with