Twenty years ago today, the New Carissa ran aground just south of Coos Bay, unleashing one of the worst environmental disasters Oregon has seen before or since. While nobody died, the cleanup effort was long and expensive. Parts of the ship stayed on the beach until 2008, and the oil that couldn't be removed had to be burned in place.



Here's a brief visual tour of the disaster.

Don't Edit

The Associated Press

The Japanese-built-Panamian flagged tanker New Carissa is shown here a day after running aground near Coos Bay. Early efforts were aimed at trying to refloat the ship, which was trying to wait out a storm when the incident happened.

Don't Edit

The Oregonian

On Feb. 9, a clean-up crewman races north along the beach with bags full of oily sand and drift wood while the grounded cargo ship New Carissa sits in the background. The ship ran aground five days earlier.

Don't Edit

The Oregonian

John Evans and Nathan Nelson of Clean Pacific Columbia, bag debris from the oil spill of the New Carissa on Feb. 9, 1999, five days after the ship ran aground.

Don't Edit

The Oregonian

Gov. John Kitzhaber talks on his cell phone on Feb. 11, 1999, after inspecting the situation involving the New Carissa. A week after the grounding, it was becoming obvious that the ship could not be refloated and a decision was made to set the ship afire to burn off oil that could do damage to the Oregon shoreline.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

The Associated Press

Flames shoot from the grounded freighter New Carissa as the fuel aboard the vessel is set afire late Thursday, Feb. 11, 1999, off the Oregon coast. The decision to scrap the ship and save Oregon's beaches from a disastrous spill of fuel oil was made after efforts to refloat the ship were abandoned.

Don't Edit

The Associated Press

By Feb. 13, 1999, two days after the New Carissa was set ablaze, oil ribbons are visible on the beach near Coos Bay. The ship had been aground since Feb. 4. The fuel aboard the stricken vessel was lit afire in an effort to burn off the remaining gallons.

Don't Edit

The Associated Press

On Feb. 13, 1999, clean-up crews gathered oil-soaked items from the beach near the grounded freighter New Carissa. The oily items are picked up and placed in bags that are later taken to disposal sites.

Don't Edit

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Both halves of the New Carissa sit in the surf off Oregon's south coast. Pounding surf and damage done by fires set aboard the ship caused it to break in half in mid-February.

Don't Edit

The Oregonian

On Feb. 15, a helicopter drops jellied petroleum into the cargo holds of the smoldering New Carissa in an effort to burn off still more of the oil in the ships hold. The oil was burned to keep it from leaking out of the ship and causing even more environmental damage.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

The Oregonian

On Feb. 15, Steve Wolfe of the Coast Guard, Brian Gallant, safety officer for the Unified Command for the New Carissa clean up and Dan Borczynski of the Coast Guard inspect the beach near the ship wreck.

Don't Edit

The Oregonian

On Feb. 17, Dave Renner, with Baker Tanks, unloads the first of several 22,000-gallon steel reclamation tanks that will receive the oil as it is offloaded from the New Carissa.

Don't Edit

The Oregonian

By Feb. 20, Coast Guard Strike Force and salvage crews were readying a hose to carry most of the remaining oil from the New Carissa.

Don't Edit

The Oregonian

Vevee Aspros of Portland, Bill Palmer of Toledo, and Bill Aspros of Portland watch on March 3 as the New Carissa’s bow section sits off the coast of Waldport.

Don't Edit

The Oregonian

A Coast Guard helicopter lowers salvage workers aboard the New Carissa on March 3. The ship broke apart and this section ran aground near Waldport.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

The Associated Press

Waves crash against the broken New Carissa bow section as it sits beached near the entrance to Alsea Bay as efforts to tow her off the beach initially failed.

Don't Edit

The Oregonian

The New Carissa's bow section was refloated at Waldport on the morning of March 8. Crews prepare to remove it.

Don't Edit

The Oregonian

The pieces of the New Carissa sit beached in waves washed smooth by a time exposure.

Don't Edit

The Oregonian

The main section of the New Carissa's stern is battered by surf Friday, March 24, 2000, about 600 feet off the beach near Coos Bay. Once considered floatable for deep-sea burial, it is now stuck in the sand. A smaller section of the stern, left, is almost entirely submerged and contains an unknown quanity of residual fuel.

Don't Edit

The Oregonian

This rusted hulk of the New Carissa sits off the Oregon coast in 2002, three years after the ship ran aground.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

The Oregonian

The remains of the New Carissa loom in the sand off the southern Oregon coast in 2002, three years after the ship ran aground.

Don't Edit

The Oregonian

In August of 2008, crews cut up what was left of the New Carissa and hauled it away. The wrecked hulk of the ship sat off the Oregon coast for more than nine years.