BP’s new double hull oil tanker in service, headed to Valdez

The Alaskan Explorer, the second of four double-hull “Alaska class” tankers being built for BP, arrived in Juneau April 18 on its way to Valdez to take on its first cargo of North Slope crude oil.

The 941-foot, 1.3 million-barrel tanker berthed at Juneau’s Cruise Ship Terminal Dock.

“Combined, the four new tankers represent an investment of $1 billion,” BP Exploration (Alaska) President Steve Marshall said in a statement.

When the fourth and final Alaska class tanker is delivered in mid-2006, BP’s entire Alaska tanker fleet will be double-hulled, the company said.

BP said it voluntarily incorporated a number of additional environmental enhancements into the Alaska class design, “and the vessels exceed regulatory standards for new tankers.”

The enhancements range from complete redundancy in the propulsion, navigation and communications systems “in order to reduce risk and human error” to diesel electric engines to reduce emissions from the tanker’s stacks.

Piping, normally installed on deck, was instead installed inside the cargo tanks to reduce the risk of small spills, the company said. Propeller shafts are cooled with seawater, “virtually eliminating the risk of small oil leaks to the environment.”

BP said the new tankers are faster and more fuel efficient than the existing fleet, load and discharge in less time and are less expensive to maintain. By reducing the cost, the new tankers add to the wellhead value of the crude oil, increasing the state’s revenues from production tax and royalties. BP said that of every dollar saved in transportation, about 20 cents goes to the state.

The first of the Alaska class vessels, the Alaskan Frontier, began service in September. The Alaskan Navigator is scheduled for delivery late this year and the Alaskan Legend is scheduled for mid-2006.

The tankers are being built in San Diego by National Steel & Shipbuilding Co. Portland-based Alaska Tanker Co. operates BP’s Alaskan tanker fleet and is 25 percent owned by BP.

—Petroleum News