Salvage efforts were being launched this weekend in a bid to recover this capsized ship that had come aground at Katmai National Park in Alaska/Jack McFarland, Alaska Marine Surveyors

Salvage teams hoped to get a chance this weekend to work on recovering a capsized vessel that came aground at Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska, where an oil sheen was seen drifting away from the wreck.

According to the National Park Service, the F/V Northern Pride was found Thursday hard aground on the shore between Cape Chiniak and Kaguyak Point along the Shelikof Strait. "The wooden vessel, built in 1943, is 82-feet long and had a maximum capacity of 4,900 gallons of diesel fuel, 200 gallons of hydraulic fluid, and 200 gallons of lube oil," a Park Service release said, adding that "the amount of fuel currently remaining aboard is unknown."

The F/V Northern Pride'™s three-person crew abandoned ship due to a fire on April 21st. They were rescued by a U.S. Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew. The vessel overturned shortly thereafter and was believed to have sunk.

But on April 28th, the Coast Guard reported that the F/V Northern Pride had been found near the Shakun Islets off the coast of Katmai National Park. A salvage company was contracted by the ship's owners to recover what remains of the vessel. The salvage assessment began with a visit to the vessel on Thursday, when it was found beached along the Katmai coast.

The Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff have identified resources at risk in the area, which include cultural resources, marine mammals, and migratory birds.

"Rapid salvage of the vessel, spill assessment and response are a high priority for the many agencies involved including the U.S. Coast Guard, several agencies of State of Alaska, NOAA, USFWS and the National Park Service." the release said.

The ship, the F/V Northern Pride, possibly was leaking its diesel fuel/Jack McFarland, Alaska Marine Surveyors