Commentary By Amanda Bauer
For The Cordova Times
The United Nations estimates there are three million shipwrecks at the bottom of the world’s oceans. One of these, the cargo ship El Faro, sank during a hurricane near the Bahamas in 2015. All on board perished. Prior to the sinking, the El Faro and her crew were scheduled to move to a Tacoma-to-Alaska route. The vessel’s captain, Michael Davidson, was an experienced mariner, having worked on boats since the 1970s. According to the transcripts from the El Faro’s voyage data recorder, as the vessel got closer to the hurricane, Davidson and the crew joked that they would have to get used to this type of weather. “Well, this is every day in Alaska,” said the captain. “A typical winter day in Alaska.”
In other words – mine, not his – water is water. I wonder what he would say today if we could ask him if water is water.
During the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council board meeting in January, we heard a lot about the transition of Alyeska Pipeline Service Company’s marine services contract to Edison Chouest Offshore. The services provided under this contract include escort tugs, general purpose tugs, oil recovery storage barges, and personnel, all of which are key oil spill prevention and response assets for the Valdez Marine Terminal and oil tankers operating in Prince William Sound.
Many on the Council believe that some drills and exercises should be conducted at, or near, “closure limits,” when the weather is severe enough to close Hinchinbrook Entrance, the main access for oil tankers entering the Sound. Currently, closure occurs at the Entrance when winds exceed 45 knots or seas exceed 15 feet.
I am thankful to hear this from Council members, however I am concerned that we are not hearing the same from the people who have the most influence and power to get this accomplished.
While we hear reassurances that indeed there will be drills and exercises in Alaska, we are also hearing “water is water” and “tugs are tugs.” We have also been told that it is not safe to conduct exercises at or near closure conditions.
But how else can we verify the ability of tugs and crews to operate in the heavy weather that is common in the Sound, especially during the winter months?
I am unqualified to speak about marine architecture. I’m going to leave those technical issues to people with that expertise. But, I’ve been working for Stan Stephens Cruises out of Valdez for 25 years, the last 10 of those years as a captain with a 100 Ton Masters License.
I disagree with those who truly believe that “water is water” and “tugs are tugs.” We talk a lot about oil spill prevention and saving tankers, but the absolute most important concern is human safety. Trust me when I say that with the size and power of those tugs and tankers, in heavy weather, a true emergency will threaten lives.
I fully understand that conducting drills in severe weather conditions can be dangerous and delicate. But in the long run, it means safer crews and safer transportation of oil. A tug might perform perfectly, but if the human beings aboard cannot function, that is a problem. In an emergency, in weather at Hinchinbrook Entrance, the crews have to be mentally sharp and physically on point. You do not want them to experience that situation for the first time in an emergency, and they don’t deserve that either.
A properly planned sequence of exercises could verify capabilities and quantify the limits of safe operations. There is a precedent for this. Crowley Maritime, the current marine services contractor, simulated “saving” a tanker in heavy weather in 2004. The lessons learned and the experience gained by the crews was invaluable. My mentor, Stan Stephens, was on board, and I have to tell you, Stan got seasick – the only time ever in his life, and he was pretty embarrassed about it. But when he spoke of that exercise, there was tremendous relief in his voice. He knew the tug could do it and, most importantly, the crew could too.
If the answer to performing drills and exercises at or near closure conditions is “no, because it is not safe,” then how can we trust that in an emergency, in the same conditions, a save would be made? One situation is not more important than another when it comes to risking human life.
Amanda Bauer is the president of the board of directors for the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council.
