Barge carrying munitions to Indian Island freed after going aground near Anacortes

ANACORTES â€” A barge carrying cargo that included an estimated 9,000 of pounds of Navy munitions bound for Naval Magazine Indian Island ran aground early Monday morning on Belle Rock near Anacortes.

The 322-foot barge St. Elias was pulled free late Monday afternoon after salvage divers inspected its hull and determined it could be safely moved, according to Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Robert K. Lanier in Seattle.

The barge was towed to the middle of the shipping channel where it was undergoing further checks by the Coast Guard and state Department of Ecology inspectors as night fell.

Earlier in the day a 2,000-yard safety zone had been cleared around the barge, but Lanier said Navy explosives experts had gone aboard and determined that the explosives were secure and safe.

Indian Island, their destination, is the Navy ammunition and weapons storage depot across from Port Townsend.

Lanier said the St. Elias, being towed by the 101-foot tugboat Henry Brusco, ran aground at about 5:20 a.m. Monday on Belle Rock in Rosario Strait about five miles southwest of Anacortes.

No injuries were reported in the grounding.

Local, state and federal agencies responded to the scene.

The crew of a Port Angeles-based Coast Guard helicopter that flew over the site reported no indication of an oil spill, but as a precaution an oil-containment boom was placed around the barge.

Other cargo on the barge included produce, fish and automobiles, Lanier said.