Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve temporary closed Muir Inlet earlier this month to vessel traffic to allow a salvage operation to raise a sunken pleasure craft. But the agency reopened the area on July 11, after an initial search did not locate the 66-foot M/V Cats N Dawgs, which sank July 1.
Salvage vessels used sonar and remote cameras to search the area surrounding where the vessel sank. With salvage operations currently suspended, related area closures have been lifted. Mariners may still call KWM20 Bartlett Cove on marine channel 12 for updates from the National Park Service. It’s unclear if the vessel is a marine hazard since it hasn’t been located.
The National Park Service will continue to monitor conditions in the area of the incident for signs of fuel or oil leaking from the sunken vessel as further actions are explored. The Coast Guard continues their investigation of the incident with assistance from the National Park Service. As of last Park Service report, no visible sheen from fuel or oil remains in the area.
The yacht had left Seattle for a cruise through the inside passage when it took on water and capsized; all four on board were rescued by a Good Samaritan crew and the Coast Guard.
