The sunken crab boat Deep Sea has been successfully raised from its resting place in Penn Cove.
The 340-ton vessel was plucked from the bottom with two massive cranes Sunday and crews began draining the vessel of seawater.
The sunken crab boat Deep Sea has been successfully raised from its resting place in Penn Cove.
The 340-ton vessel was plucked from the bottom with two massive cranes Sunday and crews began draining the vessel of seawater.
The operation to raise and remove a 128-foot crab boat that sank in Penn Cove three weeks ago has begun.
The second of two large cranes being used to lift the vessel arrived early Sunday morning and by 11 a.m., crews had the 340-ton fishing boat off the bottom and on its way to the surface.
To date, state and federal agencies managing the sunken crab boat in Penn Cove have shelled out nearly $1.5 million and the cost continues to rise as the boat continues to sit on the sea floor.
At the end of the day, the entire event could total more than $2.24 million, according to figures provided by officials with all the various government agencies working on the incident.
Republican Island County Commissioner Kelly Emerson has once again pulled the carpet out from under her Democratic colleagues with a surprise proposal during the board’s regular meeting earlier this month.
Without any prior discussion with commissioners Helen Price Johnson and Angie Homola, both of whom are running for re-election this fall, Emerson announced May 21 that she believes the board was having some trouble with executive session rules and wanted their support in seeking legal advice.
A 128-foot derelict crab boat that sank in Penn Cove more than two weeks ago could be raised today, according to officials with the state Department of Ecology.
The first of two large cranes that will be used to pick up the vessel arrived Monday. Dive crews worked through the holiday weekend and into this week to prepare it for lifting.
A group of Whidbey Island residents has joined a national chorus of people and states who are taking a stand against the Supreme Court decision commonly known as Citizens United.
“We call ourselves Citizens Ignited,” said Oak Harbor resident Marshall Goldberg, in a message he delivered to the Island County commissioners during the board’s regular meeting on May 21.
The close of the official filing period for elected offices earlier this month didn’t yield any new candidates in popular local races but it did show that for the first time in years a Whidbey Islander will not be filling the 10th Legislative District’s position 2 seat for state representative.
Running for the position is Democrat Tom Riggs and Republican Dave Hayes, both of Stanwood. Riggs, a park ranger and manager for Camano Island State Park, is trying for the second time to claim the seat while Hayes, a sergeant with the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office, is a political newcomer.
Rumors proved true last week when Clinton resident Ed Jenkins officially filed to join the race for Island County commissioner District 1.
Jenkins, an independent, filed to run for the seat the day before the deadline last Friday. He is the latest contender in what is now a five-way race.
A small flotilla of specialized vessels will be operating in Penn Cove next week working to raise a 128-foot crab boat that burned and sank just outside the mussel rafts earlier this month.
Richard Walker, the on-scene spill coordinator with state Department of Ecology, said Friday morning that it is still unclear just when the vessel will be raised but confirmed that it won’t be any sooner than Monday.
Strong currents and the continuation of light oil sheen coming from the 128-foot derelict crab boat that burned and sank in Penn Cove has prompted state officials to solidify and accelerate plans to remove the vessel.
Toni Droscher, spokeswoman for the state Department of Natural Resources, said that the agency has wanted to raise and dispose of the Deep Sea since it sank, May 13, but that it was proceeding cautiously.
Despite the Sunday sinking of a 128-foot fishing boat and at least 2,000 gallons of leaked diesel fuel, about 300 canoe racers will hit the water in Coupeville today for the 21st annual Penn Cove Water Festival.
Organizers announced Thursday morning that they had received the official green light to proceed with the historic water races, settling earlier fears that the sinking of the Deep Sea might interfere with the yearly event.
An Oak Harbor woman who takes in special needs kids has no doubt a fire that consumed two of her outbuildings Wednesday was intentionally set and it is just the latest in a string of incidents that may be racially motivated.
Police and fire investigators are looking into a suspicious blaze that destroyed two outbuildings behind a house in Oak Harbor yesterday.
The fire occurred on the 1600 block of NE 11th Avenue and was first reported by the homeowner at 4:52 p.m., according to Oak Harbor Fire Department Chief Ray Merrill.