A loaded 557-foot tanker ran aground early Thursday morning on the Columbia River in the vicinity of Skamokawa, and the U.S. Coast Guard and local agencies teamed up to free it by 2:30 p.m., according to a Coast Guard spokesperson at the Sector Columbia River office in Warrenton, Ore.

The Argent Cosmos lost the use of a fuel pump and ran aground at 6:28 a.m. A Coast Guard aircrew aboard an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Sector Columbia River conducted an overflight at 9 a.m. and reported no signs of pollution. A crew aboard a 29-foot response boat from Station Cape Disappointment was dispatched to the vessel with an inspections team.

The Panamanian-flagged tanker was loaded with 1.63 million gallons of ethanol and 6.65 million gallons of monoethylene glycol. According to the Coast Guard, it also had 458,074 gallons of high-sulfur oil and 99,064 gallons of low-sulfur oil aboard.

The website of one chemical company described monoethylene glycol as “an important raw material for industrial applications. A primary use of MEG is in the manufacture of polyester (PET) resins, films and fibers. In addition, MEG is important in the production of antifreezes, coolants, aircraft anti-icer and deicers and solvents.”

The initial Coast Guard report said the ship was outbound after finishing a port call at Longview; in reality, the Argent Cosmos’ last port of call was Port Westward near Clatskanie, Ore., about 45 miles upriver of where it went aground. Two tugs assisted the vessel back to Port Westward to be inspected to make sure both the environment and crew were safe before allowing it to sail again.