VIDEO: Residents of Nome get set to offload emergency tanker shipment

Residents of Nome, Alaska, will have the fuel they need to make it through what's proven to be an unusually harsh winter.

The Russian tanker Renda arrived off Nome over the weekend and, as of Monday morning, the U.S. Coast Guard was preparing to offload the fuel. The tanker is positioned about a half-mine offshore, but this time, the ice will be friendly.

Crews from Nome's harbor are laying fuel hoses that will connect the vessel with the loading area inside the harbor. Once daylight arrives today — a period of time just five hours long — the unloading can begin. State law requires unloading to being in daylight, according to the Anchorage Daily News, but it can continue into darkness. The whole process should take between two and five days to complete.

Tricky Transfer Awaits Tanker Nearing Nome
US News Video by NewsLook
Sign up for our daily newsletter

Sign up for The Top of the World, delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.