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USCG admiral warns about Arctic needs
There is an inadequate infrastructure to support a major oil spill response in Alaska’s Arctic offshore, retired U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen told the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Feb. 11. Allen was the national incident commander for the response to the Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Horizon disaster.
Barrow, the only port close to Beaufort Sea and Chukchi Sea oil and gas lease areas, “has limited access and no ability to support large-scale operations,” Allen wrote in testimony to the committee. The closest port with significant capacity is Nome, but that port cannot handle vessels with drafts of more than 21 feet, Allen wrote.
Two of three icebreakers inoperable Allen also commented that two of the Coast Guard’s three icebreakers are currently inoperable and have reached the ends of their service lives. Meantime, decisions over future icebreaker needs continue to be delayed and the National Science Foundation-based funding mechanism for icebreaker operations is dysfunctional, Allen wrote. The funding for icebreaking operations must be moved to the USCG and there needs to be “serious discussion” regarding the loss of capabilities resulting from the decommissioning of the two out-dated vessels.
“In the absence of forward operating bases and infrastructure, seaborne command and control capabilities will be vital in any response, including search and rescue and other activities,” Allen wrote. “The only vessels in the U.S. fleet capable of operating in those environments in all ice conditions are Coast Guard icebreakers.”
Allen also urged U.S. ratification of the Convention of the Law of the Sea Treaty, the United Nations convention that provides a framework for international agreements on jurisdiction over extended areas of the Arctic Ocean.
“This treaty … should underpin any domestic and international planning for spill response,” Allen wrote.
—Alan Bailey
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