Russian tanker transfers fuel to iced-in Alaska town

GlobalPost

Officials said things were going smoothly in Alaska at the site where a Russian tanker is transferring 1.3 million gallons of gasoline and diesel to the iced-in city of Nome, the Associated Press reported.

After traveling 5,000 miles, the tanker, Renda, reached the port, only to find the harbor iced-in. Instead of docking, it is pumping the badly needed fuel across the harbor using two special hoses, each 700 yards long.

Without the Renda's delivery, Nome would have run out of fuel by March or April, long before the next possible delivery. The tank is now pumping an estimated 30,000 and 40,000 gallons of fuel an hour.

The difficult transfer, which could take from one to five days, was delayed until daylight but can now continue throughout the night. Nome has just five hours of light during this time of year.

The 370-foot ship traveled thousands of miles from Russia and through the Bering Sea to reach the isolated city.

“Our main goal is not so much to make profit but to rescue people,” the tanker’s owner, Fazil Aliyev, told RT, the Russian television news network.

The mission is an example of unusual cooperation between the two nations.

More from GlobalPost: Russian fuel tanker reaches Alaska town cut off by ice (VIDEO)

Nome, a small fishing town of about 3,500 people, has been unable to receive fuel due to a massive November storm.

Alaska has been hit with one of the worst winters in decades.

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