The Observer, July, 2008

Council to join international SAFETUG study

Citizens’ council marine operations project manager Chris Jones and board vice president Stephen Lewis attended the twentieth biennial International Tug and Salvage Convention and Exhibition in Singapore May 19 through May 23.

The convention is a combined business and technical meeting attended by international industry leaders from the towing and salvage world. Over 400 delegates from 46 countries and 110 exhibitors met at the newly completed SunTec International Convention and Exhibition Centre for the event.

Presentation t o p i c s included ship salvage and the push for environmental salvage awards, which would reward salvagers for preventing damage to the environment; hybrid or green tug technology; and modern technological advancements in vessel and vessel equipment.

The purpose of the trip by Jones and Lewis was to meet with members of the Maritime Research Institute Netherlands and to get a better understanding of its joint industry projects, SAFETUG I and SAFETUG II.

The institute, an international authority in hydrodynamics, determines the performance and capabilities of tugs through the use of systematic model testing supported by computer simulations. This accounts for a large portion of the SAFETUG projects.

SAFETUG I took place in 2007 and studied the performance and behavior of tugs assisting vessels during berthing and high speed escorting. The data is being used to determine how tugs operate in rough seas and at what limits, such as waves and wind, they can no longer perform the tasks they were designed for.

SAFETUG II, which began in May of 2008, focuses on tug design and equipment such as winches, fenders and towlines. The data will be combined with operational aspects, including training and the human factor, which will give researchers a tested assessment of the capabilities of tugs in all types of weather and sea conditions.

The council is joining the SAFETUG II project in the hope of finding out how well Prince William Sound’s tugs stack up against the environmental conditions in the northern Gulf of Alaska, which oil tankers enter when they leave the Sound via Hinchinbrook Entrance. The results of the study should help the council better understand the capabilities and limitations of the Sound’s current escort fleet.

The council’s cost for admission into SAFETUG I and II is $93,600.

The council is simultaneously working with the National Weather Service to define the typical winter storm conditions for the northern Gulf. Once established, these conditions will be used in simulations to assess the capabilities of the current escort fleet.

The information could be used to address limitations in the Sound’s current fleet and provide answers on how to fill those gaps, with the most likely result being a need for an emergency towing vessel.

“Many industry leaders at the conference agreed that the northern Gulf of Alaska may have some the worst ocean conditions in the world,” Jones said. “Almost every expert we talked to said that we need a more capable vessel. At the upper limits, when tankers are still allowed to operate, our tug is going to have a difficult, if not impossible time making the save. Our participation in SAFETUG II should give us more knowledge about our current vessels’ performance to decide whether we are in need of a more capable vessel for Hinchinbrook Entrance duty.”

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