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Oil Tankers & the Straits of Juan de Fuca
2-Masted topsail schooner in the Canadian Gulf Islands. [Unknown Lens, Unknown Exposure, Kodak RG 100] My entire life I have accepted the commercial traffic that steams up and down the Puget Sound and Straits of Juan de Fuca without question. When we lived on Three Tree Point, I remember being wakened in the middle of the night when a container ship’s wake would pound the Point at high tide. I have been out in the Patience at night, before we had radar, and had the scary experience of having a container ship ghost by at 25 knots on a dark winter night—a mere quarter mile away. We never saw the small green and red running lights or heard the throbbing diesels until she was right next to us.
Despite these experiences, I have always felt the risks posed by commercial vessels were acceptable in order to support our region’s economy. As a result, I have never thought too deeply about the issue of commercial vessel traffic in Northwest waters. That is, until the day my wife and I were crossing the eastern Straits of Juan de Fuca, and we had to slow down for about 10 minutes to let an outbound oil tanker cross our bow. As we slowed to let the ship pass, it really hit me. Here was a genuine oil tanker headed out the Straits of Juan de Fuca. This wasn’t a “harmless” bulk cargo ship, or a ship full of automobiles inbound from Asia, but a potential floating ecological disaster. We weren’t in some “far-off” place like Prince William Sound or the English Channel. With my overactive imagination hard at work, I half expected to see the name Exxon Valdez (since, renamed the Mediterranean) painted across her bow.
Part of me was horrified by the thought of a tanker going through the Straits of Juan de Fuca. I am as guilty as the next person and have a severe case of the “it’s ok as long as its not in my backyard” syndrome. Another part of me was relieved that at least there was an ocean going tug tagging along after the ship—like an obedient dog following its master. I haven’t seen too many commercial vessels in the Northwest with so much as a Boston Whaler escort—let alone an ocean going tug. This made me feel a little better. B.C. Ferry 'Spirit of Vancouver Island' exiting Active Pass westbound. [80-200mm, Unknown Exposure, Kodak RG 100]
The fact is, that a similar tanker makes a similar journey, on average, every single day of the year. Many come from Valdez, Alaska—where the trans-Alaska oil pipeline terminates. This is called the “TAPS Trade” (Trans-Alaska Pipeline System). These tankers sail down from Valdez, staying 40 - 75 nautical miles offshore. They pass outside of the Queen Charlotte Islands and Vancouver Island. When the tankers get offshore of Cape Flattery, they turn in and head east down the Straits of Juan de Fuca. After transiting Juan de Fuca they usually turn north and continue up Rosario Strait. Many end their voyage at the refineries in Anacortes, or Cherry Point, but others continue up the south end of the Straits of Georgia and in to Vancouver, Canada.
It appears that most of the ships making this passage are not modern ships. U.S. oil companies are required by law to only employ only U.S. flagged, built and operated tankers on all domestic routes. Due to the high cost of building ships in the U.S., oil companies have deferred replacing these ships as long as possible. As a result, most of the tankers are old, single-hulled ships. In fact, of the U.S. tanker fleet of 43 vessels, 18 must be retired by the year 2000 according to the U.S. Oil Pollution Act of 1990.
Currently, all tankers are required to have a tug escort once they get east of Port Angeles. The oil tanker Amy and I saw was an example of these requirements at work. However, west of Port Angeles, tankers sail alone—they have neither an escort nor a pilot. A communications system called the “tug-of opportunity” is in place to provide an emergency tug for a tanker that gets in trouble west of Port Angeles. Despite the “tug-of-opportunity” system, various parties are lobbying for an escort the entire way out of the Straits of Juan de Fuca. Another alternative is for a “rescue tug” to be permanently stationed at Neah Bay (the northwest tip of the Straits of Juan de Fuca). This whole controversy has become such a big issue that one of Washington’s senators, Patty Murray, has thrown her weight behind the movement. Two Black Oyster Catchers. There are only about 11,000 of these birds left in the world. Bearskin Bay, Queen Charlotte Islands. [80-200mm, Unknown exposure, Fuji Velvia]
To get an alternative viewpoint, I tried emailing some of the oil companies and asked their opinions on this controversy. Responses differed between companies. A Northwest external affairs representative from ARCO responded promptly to my email. He sent me a well-reasoned response that essentially said, “In a nutshell, ARCO does not believe there is an extraordinary safety or environmental risk in the Strait of Juan de Fuca which requires an extraordinary measure such as tanker escorts”. In addition, he commented, “Although we don’t think it is necessary from a safety or environmental risk standpoint, ARCO will support the stationing of a rescue tug near Neah Bay on an interim basis if the cost is shared by all ships that benefit from this additional safety measure”.
In general I am impressed with ARCO. Not only with their responsiveness and willingness to communicate on the issue, but also their efforts to modernize the tankers that are used on the trip from Valdez to Cherry Point. ARCO Marine has committed to building three new “Millenniium Class” oil tankers. These tankers are double-hulled and have a number of safety features. As mentioned before, most of the tankers that ply Northwest waters are old ships. ARCO seems like they are being reasonably proactive on the issue.
Exxon and Shell were less forthcoming. I searched Exxon’s web page for about an hour and was unable to find a single contact I could send email to. In addition, I thought Exxon’s press releases and other reference materials on ecological matters were generally glossy and almost insultingly uninformative. I did find someone to email on Shell’s website, but never received a response to my email query, although I was promised a two-day turnaround.
Being pretty fiscally conservative, I was curious what a tug based protection system might cost. Over 10,000 vessels transit the Strait each year. The majority of these vessels are bulk cargo and container ships. This averages out to 27 ships a day, or over a ship an hour. This is a huge amount of traffic and it really gives you a new sense of respect for the people who are running the Puget Sound Vessel Traffic Service. At any rate, I found an estimate in the Puget Sound Business Journal, which put the cost of a “rescue tug” at $2000 per vessel transiting the Straits. Doing the math, this equates to a yearly price tag of approximately $20 million. It is important to note that groups who support the interests of ocean carriers prepared the $2000/vessel estimate. I also found an estimate from the environmental side of things that put the yearly cost more in the $5 million dollar per year range. Despite the range of estimates, it is probably fairly safe to conclude that the cost is somewhere in the $10 million dollars per year range—certainly a non-trivial sum. Bald eagle at Sandspit. [35-70mm, Unknown Exposure, Fuji Velvia]
One has to wonder... if we commit the resources for tug escorts or a designated rescue tug, will it significantly reduce the risks? Is this an emotional response to a heated issue or a true reduction of the risks? For example, it seems to me, the need to provide “tug coverage” for the western end of Juan de Fuca is somewhat arbitrary. What happens if a tanker is disabled, damaged or sinks off the British Columbia or Washington coasts (after its escort has left)? It is conceivable that an offshore spill like this could wreck just as much havoc as a spill in the actual Straits. Case in point, in early 1997 the Russian tanker, Nakhodka sank and spilled oil that reached the coast of Japan, 90 long nautical miles away.
The answer to these questions is obviously not simple. In my opinion, driving 100,000+ ton ships, laden with crude oil, has, and always will be, risky business. Creating a better, safer system for transporting crude oil does not happen overnight, or at no cost. Each alternative needs to be carefully weighed and costed out. An oil spill in Northwest waters makes me as sick to the stomach as the next person, however, decisions need to be made logically and methodically. We need to strike a balance that protects beautiful waters and wildlife around the Pacific Northwest and the region’s economy.

References



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Adventures in the Charlottes was written by Tim Whelan.
All pictures and text ©Tim Whelan 1998-1999.
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