Crew of MOL auto carrier rescued in Alaskan waters

Crew of MOL auto carrier rescued in Alaskan waters    U.S. Coast and Alaska Air National Guard helicopters successfully hoisted to safety Monday night 23 crewmen from a large car carrier operated by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines that is on its side in the North Pacific Ocean, 230 miles south of the Aleutian Islands, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
   The 'Cougar Ace' was bound for Vancouver, British Columbia from Japan with 4,813 vehicles. Three inflatable life rafts dropped earlier by a Coast Guard C-130 aircraft were unusable because they were blown underneath the vessel, Petty Officer Thomas Mckenzie said. The aircraft made another life raft drop on the far side of the vessel, but by then the crew had sought refuge on the high side of the tilted vessel.
   A merchant vessel, the 'Ikan Juara,' stood by to lend assistance. Coast Guard officers decided against transferring the men to the ship, opting instead to squeeze everybody in rather than conduct another hoist operation under difficult weather conditions.
   The Coast Guard received a distress call about 11 p.m. Sunday night saying that the 'Cougar Ace' was taking on water and listing at 80 degrees. The 654-foot, Singapore-flagged vessel is listing at 90 degrees. The only injury reported was a seaman with a broken leg.
   The sea service said the cause of the damage is unknown at this time. High seas and rain squalls were reported in the region.
   The 'Cougar Ace' is carrying 430 metric tons of fuel oil and 112 metric tons of diesel fuel. The Coast Guard has sighted a sheen of oil that extends about two miles from the vessel.
   MOL is developing a plan to try to balance and salvage the vessel, spokesman Greg Beuerman told Shipper’s Newswire. Determining the reason why the 'Cougar Ace' began to list will help shape the salvage plan, he said.