Cleanup began Friday to remove the remains of a torched commercial fishing ship that washed up late last week on a beach south of Bandon.

About 50 to 60 feet of the 64-foot Ann Kathleen, including its hull, mast and several mechanical parts, are still on the beach as well as smaller debris that has washed ashore as far as 7 miles south of the area, said Chris Havel, an Oregon Parks and Recreation Department spokesman. The other parts of the boat apparently burned up in the fire or sunk in the ocean.

The delay in removing the ship wreckage was partly due to needing to remove the vessel’s diesel fuel first, Havel said. Cleanup crews found no evidence of oil sheen in the water and suspect any fuel that leaked either evaporated or was burned up by the flames.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies removed more than 1,000 gallons of gas left inside the ship’s tanks. The gas was stored in six 275-gallon plastic totes and flown by a helicopter to Cape Blanco Airport about 8 miles away.

Havel said the plan is to also use a helicopter to fly cut-up chunks of the ship wreckage to the airport. Sand has piled up on the ship, requiring parts of it to be dug out before it’s cut, he said.

Crews hope any parts of the wreckage that can’t be dug out will be buried by the sand in time, Havel said. He said authorities are aiming to complete the cleanup by early next week at the soonest.

“But it could be longer because the beach is in control, we are not,” Havel said.

It’s still unclear what caused the ship to catch fire May 2. The four-person crew abandoned ship and were rescued from the ocean by a private boat in the area then retrieved by the Coast Guard, Havel said. No one was injured.

The wood and fiberglass fishing ship was from Westport, Washington, about 70 miles west of Olympia.

The Ann Kathleen was still burning when it hit shore in a remote area between New River and Floras Lake, several miles from a developed beach access. The fire was out by May 3, and crews began working to remove the fuel soon after, Havel said.

Havel said a cost estimate of the cleanup is still being tallied. He said the ship’s insurer is paying for the work.

He advised beachgoers in the area to bring trash bags and gloves in the event they happen to encounter small debris from the Ann Kathleen or some other source. Any trash can be left near a public access point and retrieved by the parks department, Havel said.

He said people can call 211 to alert authorities of large pieces of debris.

-- Everton Bailey Jr.

ebailey@oregonian.com | 503-221-8343 |@EvertonBailey

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