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Providing coverage of Alaska and northern Canada's oil and gas industry
February 2019

Vol. 24, No. 5 Week of February 03, 2019

PWSRCAC raises concerns about Hinchinbrook weather observations

Alan Bailey

Petroleum News

The Prince William Sound Regional Citizens Advisory Council is worried about the impact on tanker traffic safety of an outage of the buoy that is used to monitor sea and weather conditions at the Hinchinbrook Entrance to Prince William Sound, and about procedures for alternative weather observing. Apparently the buoy stopped operating on May 14, 2018, and was out of action for nearly seven months. During the outage Edison Chouest Offshore tugs that escort laden tankers across Prince William Sound from the Valdez Marine Terminal had to make weather observations as a replacement for the buoy data, Joe Lally, PWSRCAC director of programs, told the PWSRCAC board on Jan. 24.

Under the rules for laden tanker transits through the Hinchinbrook Entrance into the Gulf of Alaska, the U.S. Coast Guard closes the entrance to tanker traffic if the wind strength exceeds 45 knots or the wave heights exceed 15 feet. A tanker cannot depart the oil terminal if the Hinchinbrook Entrance is closed. However, if the entrance is closed after a tanker departs the terminal the tanker can proceed to a defined line on the north side of the entrance but must wait inside Prince William Sound until the entrance is re-opened. If, on the other hand, the tanker has already crossed the go/no-go line when the closure goes into effect, the tanker may proceed into the Gulf of Alaska, at the tanker master’s discretion.

Obtaining weather data

The weather buoy, referred to as the Seal Rocks buoy, just outside the Hinchinbrook Entrance, normally provides data for the Coast Guard.

“Weather reports from this buoy are the primary source of weather data that the Coast Guard uses to make Hinchinbrook Entrance open and closure decisions,” Lally said.

However, if data from the buoy are not available, the ECO tanker escort tugs can make weather observations as an alternative.

“Alyeska conducts weather reporting when the USCG requests, if safe to do so,” Michelle Egan, Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. corporate communications director, has told Petroleum News. “The Edison Chouest Offshore mariners who observe the weather are professional licensed mariners who work in the environment every day, and the Coast Guard can accept the weather report or not when making the decision to close Hinchinbrook Entrance.”

The Seal Rocks buoy is operated by the National Data Buoy Center, within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.. The Coast Guard oversees maintenance of the buoy - Lally commended the efforts made by the Coast Guard and the NBDC to re-activate the buoy following the May outage.

Three incidents

However, Lally cited three incidents during the buoy outage that he said illustrate the hazards of not having the buoy data available and what PWSRCAC views as inadequate procedures for making tug weather observations.

On Nov.12 a tanker left the marine terminal 15 minutes before the Coast Guard closed the Hinchinbrook Entrance in deteriorating weather conditions. Unable to transit the entrance because of the closure, the tanker had to conduct “racetrack circuits” inside the sound until the Coast Guard later re-opened the entrance. That re-opening was based on a weather observation at the entrance by an ECO tug that had been on station with an oil spill response barge moored at Port Etches, on the west side of Hinchinbrook Island. While the tug was engaged in making its weather observation, the strong wind caused the barge to break free of its mooring and run aground - the barge was subsequently recovered safely. During its return to Port Etches the tug lost an anchor and had a thruster failure. Apparently Alyeska is still investigating the incident.

10-hour opening between closures

In the second incident starting on Nov. 24 the Coast Guard closed Hinchinbrook Entrance for 25 hours, and then for another 25 hours after a 10-hour opening. During that 10-hour opening period, two laden tankers departed through the entrance, having left the marine terminal before the weather conditions for re-opening the entrance had become available. Weather reports from tugs indicated wave heights just below the closure threshold but appear to have been made in inconsistent formats shortly after the tankers departed, Lally said. Weather reports from Gulf of Alaska buoys some distance from the Hinchinbrook Entrance indicated wave heights above the closure threshold, he said.

In the third incident a storm impacted Prince William Sound and the Gulf of Alaska on Dec. 7. On that day the Coast Guard closed the Hinchinbrook Entrance shortly after an outbound laden tanker had crossed the go/no-go line for the entrance - the tanker departed without incident. Lally said that PWSRCAC has been unable to obtain records of tug weather observation made in association with the closure of the entrance, but that the Gulf of Alaska weather buoys indicated wave heights above closure conditions at the time the tanker left Prince William Sound.

PWSRCAC recommendations

Following these incidents, PWSRCAC recommends that the various organizations involved in the oversight of the tanker operations develop clear and comprehensive procedures for the conducting and reporting of weather observations by ECO tugs. The council also sees a need to find ways to minimize any Seal Rocks buoy outages.

- ALAN BAILEY






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