The Saga of a Fuel Delivery: Tanker Finally Reaches Nome, Alaska

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Nome’s record low temperatures make it a wonder that cars even start. And an even bigger shock comes at the gas pump in the small northeastern Alaska town: prices of $6 a gallon, a cost that’s only expected to climb. But Nome’s 3,500 residents are simply pleased that their cars will keep driving, thanks to a historic 1.3 million gallon delivery of fuel, conveyed by a tanker through miles frozen sea, to replenish their supply.

Saturday evening at 5:13 p.m., the Russian fuel tanker Renda finally arrived at Nome’s shores after weeks of anxious watching and waiting. The ship, now anchored less than half a mile from Nome’s port, will begin unloading the much-needed fuel to the town. This morning, workers planned to connect a hose to bridge the final 2,100 feet from ship to shore, meticulously monitoring the transfer so no fuel is spilled. It’s a process expected to take at least 36 hours.

(PHOTOS: In Case of Fuel Shortage, Break Ice)

But that’s hardly a blink compared to the amount of time it took for the fuel to reach Nome. The Renda set out on the final, most crucial leg of its journey on January 4, after it picked up a haul of unleaded gasoline in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, 300 miles from Nome. The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Healy guided the 371-foot tanker by breaking the ice across the Bering Sea to allow the ship to traverse the frozen water. The two ships could only travel about 20 miles a day due to the treacherous conditions, including feet-thick ice and whipping ocean currents.

Amid the -30 degree temperatures, Nome fortunately hasn’t faced a heating fuel shortage, but the gasoline supply for cars and trucks was quickly dwindling after a delivery planned for November was stymied due to an early storm and cold snap which froze shipping lanes.  The backup plan was to fly in the fuel, but that would have taken more than 300 flights flying in 5,000 gallons at a time, according to Jason Evans of Sitnasuak Native Corp. Sitnasuak owns Bonanza Fuel, one of Nome’s two fuel distributors.

And so an unprecedented winter fuel delivery was coordinated using the Renda, moored in Vladivostok, Russia. The Renda set out mid-December from its homeport, stopping to take on 1 million gallons of diesel fuel in South Korea, then making its way to Dutch Harbor for 300,000 gallons of regular unleaded. After a closely watched 11-day journey, Nome is finally being refueled and reconnected to the world. Let’s hope the Renda can now make it back home.

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