One year ago today, news reporters up and down the West Coast and points beyond learned very quickly how to spell the name of the soybean-carrying freighter that ran aground in Alaska's Aleutian Islands -- the largest marine oil spill in U.S. waters in more than a decade.

The Selendang Ayu left Seattle bound for China and carrying soybeans. When the crew ran into engine trouble and tried to fix it at sea, the ship began to drift. They did not notify the Coast Guard, which learned of the 72,000-ton freighter's troubles indirectly some 13 hours after the problems started. It was too late to get help there in time. The ship ran aground and broke in two. The damage from the oil that gurgled out of the stricken ship was massive. See the photos for yourself. Also check out the satellite images. (Look for the first link under "photo galleries" near the bottom of the page.)

But those pix can only hint at the damage the spill did to an ecosystem that previously nurtured seabirds and Stellar sea lions and lots of other critters. (Even before the spill, the Aleutian ecosystem -- despite its remote location and apparently pristine condition -- already was reeling from huge decreases in populations of Stellar sea lions, otters and other creatures. Although the cause is not known, it's widespread enough that many scientists hypothesize it's related to changes in the climate.)

A year after the Selendang Ayu's grounding, a group of environmentalists dubbed the Shipping Safety Partnership today called on the U.S. and Alaska governments to beef up safety along the Great Circle Route that takes freighters as well as oil tankers near and through the Aleutian chain. Just as with the Exxon Valdez, a Congressional investiation is warranted, the groups said in a statement released today.

They also wrote a letter to the attorneys general of Alaksa and the United States and the owners of the ship, IMC Group of Singapore, calling for an immediate $200 million payment by IMC and its insurance company to cover damage to natural resources. In addition, they called for the company to fork over $50 million to station two big ocean-going tugs in the Aleutians to prevent future incidents like this by running to the rescue when a ship gets into trouble.

The tragedy went beyond environmental damage. Six members of the freighter's crew died in the rescue when a Coast Guard helicopter crashed. See the riveting coverage of that from the P-I's Eric Nalder here and here.