RESOLVE PIONEER

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Latest news

Resolve raised sunken aicraft

The 'Resolve Pioneer' along with divers, a tug and a crane barge crew from Resolve Marine raised a LifeMed medevac plane from Unalaska Bay on Jan 20, 2020. It had sunk after it crashed near the airport on Jan 16. The three-person air ambulance crew was en route to pick up a medevac patient in Adak when the King Air Beechcraft aircraft went into the water about 100 feet northwest of the end of the Unalaska Airport runway. The LifeMed pilot, paramedic, and nurse were all rescued from a life raft and sustained no serious injuries. Resolve Marine was contracted by Aero Air – the aircraft owner – to recover the plane. A nine-person crew secured and pre-rigged the plane on Jan 18 so it would be ready to lift out of the bay. Divers went down from the salvage ship 'Makushin Bay' and assessed the plane, its position and level of stability. Then they were able to close the fuel vents to prevent any spillage of fuel into the water. Then they deployed rigging to the divers and pre-rigged the plane. It took the Resolve Pioneer and a crane barge, with an eight-person crew, four divers, and a salvage master, to remove the 16-foot plane from Unalaska Bay on Jan 21. The crane bars they used to lift the aircraft required shutting down the runway. The salvage company worked with the airport and decided to wait on removal. The whole process took approximately 12 hours. The wreck was transported back to the dock. The plane had been sitting in 50 feet of water. There were approximately 440 gallons of fuel on board at the time of takeoff. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game determined no animals appeared to be affected by the fuel release, and McAfee said there was no visible sheen on the water. The National Transportation Safety Board was investigating the cause of the crash. Report with photos: https://www.kucb.org/post/resolve-marine-removes-lifemed-plane-unalaska-bay-following-air-ambulance-crash#stream/0

Tug hit by a snag southwest of Attu

The U.S. Coast Guard escorted the "Resolve Pioneer" back to Unalaska after it lost use of an engine last week. She had sailed from Busan on Nov 30, 2017, when hitting a snag in the western Pacific Ocean, somewhere southwest of Attu. There might be some fishing line or a net wrapped around one of the propellers. The ship has been slowed down and was running only on one main engine instead of two as a precaution. The tug is expected to reach the island around next week, along with the Coast Guard Cutter "Sherman". Back in port a dive team will cut away the snagged line and the "Resolve Pioneer" will resume its place in response, salvage, and towing operations after months of maintenance in Asia.