The Observer, July 2006

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For now, industry drops idea of tug fleet cuts

The oil industry has ended a study of whether Alyeska Pipeline’s fleet of tugs could be downsized and still meet the double-escort requirement for loaded oil tankers in Prince William Sound.

In an April letter, the industry advised state regulators that no changes to the tug fleet would be proposed “at this time.”

The study, which went on for more than a year, focused on whether the fleet of escort, response, and docking tugs could be cut from ten vessels to eight without a change in the rule that two tugs must escort each loaded tanker in Prince William Sound. (See John Devens column, above.)

At first, the council felt excluded from the study and cut off from the information necessary to evaluate its results. By the end of 2005, however, communication had improved dramatically and the council was included in an industry-sponsored workshop in December 2005 intended to demonstrate that a reduced fleet was practicable.

However, a follow-up analysis and report by the council showed that the industry could not meet current oil-spill response requirements with fewer than 10 tugs. In addition, the council showed that more than ten tugs would be necessary under some conditions.

The decision to abandon the idea of reducing the tug fleet came soon afterward.