Groups call for Aleutian spill control

Release map detailing spills from both fishing vessels and larger freighters

Petroleum News

Pacific Environment, in partnership with the Alaska Center for the Environment and the Shipping Safety Partnership, is calling on the federal government to protect the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge from shipping oil spills.

The organizations released a map April 18 highlighting recent oil spills in the refuge.

“When most people think of oil spills, they think of the North Slope and Prince William Sound,” said Whit Sheard, Pacific Environment’s Alaska program director, “but we shouldn’t forget about the ongoing damage to the sensitive habitats of the Aleutian Islands.”

The map details spills from both fishing vessels and larger freighters, such as the Selendang Ayu, which in December 2004 spilled more than 335,000 gallons of fuel and other lubricants into Skan Bay, near Unalaska, killing seabirds, oiling salmon streams and disrupting commercial and subsistence fisheries.

“The Selendang Ayu was a wake-up call — it’s time for the state and federal government to ensure safe shipping in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska,” said Sheard.

Call for risk assessment

Pacific Environment’s Executive Director David Gordon said the map illustrates the chronic nature of oil spills in the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge.

“Further delay by the federal government in conducting a risk assessment of shipping in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands is inexcusable. It’s time to act before we see more spills,” Gordon said.

Pacific Environment said there are more than 2,700 ship voyages in the Aleutian Island every year. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council has taken action to protect this area from destructive fishing practices, but these rich habitats are still wide open for oil spills, Pacific Environment said.

The Shipping Safety Partnership, a broad coalition of scientists, Alaska Natives, commercial fishermen, and conservationists, are demanding reform along Alaska’s segment of “the Great Circle Route,” a shipping route used for moving goods between the U.S. West Coast and Asia.

The partnership said the State of Alaska has indicated a willingness to participate in a risk assessment but the federal government and industry have failed to implement safety measures its members proposed in 2005.