Oil Tanker Has Small Spill In Alaska

A 575-foot tanker loaded with 4.9 million gallons of gasoline and other petroleum products broke free of its moorings and ran aground Thursday but apparently did not breach its hull, the Coast Guard said.Less than 100 gallons of the ship's cargo spilled, apparently from the pumping equipment that was being used to fill the hold, officials said. Petty Officer Steve Harrison said the ship made a soft landing, running aground on silt rather than rocks. Tugboats later secured the ship.Seabulk PrideThe accident happened as the double-hulled Seabulk Pride was being pumped with cargo in the Cook Inlet port of Nikiski, 80 miles from Anchorage. An ice floe struck the Seabulk and caused its mooring line to break, state officials said. The tanker drifted nearly an hour before running aground a half-mile away, they said. No injuries were reported among the 34 crew members. The ship's cargo included an oil product similar in consistency to asphalt.