wfn.org | UMNS# 598-Alaska island residents support oil spill cleanup

["NewsDesk" <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Alaska island residents support oil spill cleanup efforts 

Dec. 16, 2004

By Linda Green

United Methodists and others living in the land known as the "birthplace of
the storms" are working to stave off the environmental impact of an oil spill
in Alaska.

A freighter ran aground Dec. 8, spilling oil onto the shores of Unalaska
Island. Unalaska is in the Aleutian Islands, about 800 miles southwest of
Anchorage. The military and federal and state agencies are involved in the
cleanup efforts, which include fighting an oil slick.

The Malaysian cargo ship Selendang Ayu was transporting soybeans when it lost
power in turbulent weather. The ship came apart on the northern shore of the
island, near fisheries and a sea lion habitat. Officials had feared that up
to 140,000 gallons of heavy fuel had leaked out of the ship, but that
estimate was lowered to 40,000 gallons as of Dec. 14. Though the disaster was
not as extensive as first thought, it still threatens wildlife.

Also involved in cleanup and support efforts are the 250 members of Unalaska
United Methodist Church, the only United Methodist church and Protestant
congregation among many religious faiths on the island of 4,087 people. The
church began on the island in the Bering Sea in 1880, when Methodists opened
a school, clinic and the Jesse Lee Home for orphans. The island is part of
the Alaska Missionary Conference of the United Methodist Church and is
recognized both as a regional transportation hub and an international trade
center.

"This oil spill will impact our shoreline," said the Rev. Kathy Wilson,
pastor of the Unalaska congregation and the volunteer chaplain to the local
U.S. Coast Guard unit. Wildlife experts are examining the coastline to assess
the damage to marine life, she said.

The slick is believed to have killed at least seven birds and other animals,
including a sea otter. Wilson said two birds were sent to Anchorage for
treatment.

"This tragedy is very sad both in loss of human life and in the impact to
God's creation because it is pristine and beautiful here," she said. "This
type of thing is unsettling to the people. The ministry that we have been
able to do involves not only the people involved in the tragedy, but the
people on the island as well."	

Unalaska's population is 7 percent Native Aleut, 13 percent Hispanic, 19
percent Asian/Pacific Islander and 61 percent Caucasian.

After the freighter stranded, six crewmembers were lost when a Coast Guard
helicopter crashed after lifting them off the vessel Dec. 8. They are
presumed dead. Four other people were rescued, including the three helicopter
crewmembers.

"I was able to have time with four of the U.S. Coast Guardsmen who survived,"
Wilson said. Her position as chaplain is to "respond to what the Coast Guard
needs and help in any way that I can," she explained. 

The Unalaska church will continue to help feed the Coast Guardsmen and others
involved in the cleanup. The church also will participate in a Christmas Day
meal with community leaders for area residents and others who are on the
island responding to the disaster.

"Our role here has been very important," Wilson said. "It has been an honor
and a blessing to be here and respond in any way that we can as the United
Methodist Church."

According to Wilson, a member of the congregation, concerned about the
welfare of the freighter's crew, spearheaded a campaign that netted clothing,
shoes and calling cards to enable the crewmembers to call home. "The ship
broke in half, and they were left with nothing," Wilson said.
The congregation also used its Dec. 12 Christmas Cantata to honor both the
survivors and the dead. Some of the freighter's crewmembers attended the
service, Wilson said.  

Numerous people and agencies are involved in the cleanup and trying to secure
the freighter, but they have been hampered by the weather. "The weather out
here is so vicious," Wilson said. "We are called the birthplace of the
storms." 
  
High winds and waves complicated damage assessment. A salvage team was
finally able to board the freighter Dec. 14.

According to an Agence France-Presse report, the Alaska spill was
"potentially the worst to hit Alaska since the tanker Exxon Valdez hit a reef
in Prince William Bay in 1989, sending more than 40 million liters (10.4
million gallons) of oil into the ocean."  

*Green is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville,
Tenn.

News media contact: Linda Green, (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

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United Methodist News Service
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