Valdez group calls for escort tug upgrades

A nonprofit organization is calling on the oil industry to improve towing equipment aboard the tugboats that escort loaded tankers through Alaska’s Prince William Sound.

The Prince William Sound Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council, in an Oct. 17 press release, said it commissioned a study on the tugs, and the analysis found outdated winches that control towing lines.

The study was done by Robert Allan Ltd., a Canadian naval architectural firm.

“The Allan study concluded that, while the Prince William Sound towing equipment is of high quality and well maintained, some of it has not kept up with technical innovation since the tugs entered service in the Sound more than a decade ago,” the RCAC said.

The towing systems on the Prince William Sound tugs no longer qualify as best available technology, primarily because escort winch technology has “changed dramatically in the past decade,” the Allan study said.

Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., which operates the trans-Alaska oil pipeline and the Valdez tanker port, contracts with Crowley Maritime Corp. for several tugs to escort and assist tankers. The tugs are part of Alyeska’s SERVS unit — the Ship Escort/Response Vessel System.

The idea is that tugs can help stop or guide tankers in the event of trouble. Federal law mandates that two tugs must escort each oil-laden tanker through Prince William Sound.

The Valdez-based RCAC is a congressionally sanctioned nonprofit that monitors the oil terminal and tanker operations.

It said it has sent the Allan study and its findings to Alyeska, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and the U.S. Coast Guard.

“This study makes specific recommendations to further enhance the safety and capabilities of an already proven system for preventing tanker accidents in Prince William Sound,” said Mark Swanson, the RCAC’s executive director. “We hope Alyeska and its regulators will pay close attention and make every possible effort to bring the towing equipment in the Sound up to world-class standards.”

Alyeska spokeswoman Michelle Egan provided this comment to Petroleum News:

“Alyeska agrees that the escort tugs and other equipment in PWS are of ‘high quality and well maintained.’ In fact, we believe the SERVS escort system is the most comprehensive in the United States. The tugs are built for purpose, meeting the needs of the PWS area and the requirements of the oil spill contingency plan.”

—Wesley Loy