The passenger ship Baranof Winds struck rocks in Glacier Bay with 72 passengers on board. The sightseeing vessel got water ingress and was in danger of sinking, so the navigation officers sent immediately distress signal and requested assistance from coast guard and nearby vessels. On the scene of the accident arrived the Holland America cruise ship Volendam, which took 70 passengers from the sinking ship. Another two persons were boarded on National Park Service boat. Some the passengers were with minor injuries, but there is no problem for their health. The coast guard send a helicopter with de-watering pump, which was started on board of Baranof Winds. The crew and the coast guard rescuers operated the ship to stay afloat and deployed the anchor to keep the stability of the ship. The salvage operations of the passenger ship Baranof Winds will continue next hours and the vessel should be towed to the port of Sitka, Alaska. There is no information for pollution in the vicinity, but the fuel tanks of the vessel are consisted of a few tons of diesel oil.
Baranof Winds is recreation passenger catamaran, which has length of 24.00 m and beam of . The ship is operated by the company Allen Marine and offers tours in the Alaskan ports Juneau, Sitka and Ketchikan.