Violation in Valdez Narrows

On Sunday, July 10, two outbound laden tankers were in Valdez Narrows at the same time. Having two ships over 20,000dwt in the Narrows area is a violation of 33CFR161.60 and subsequent contingency plans.

The SeaRiver Baytown left Berth 5, and approximately 25 minutes later the Polar Adventure left Berth 4. The Baytown was given permission to enter into the Narrows area by the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Vessel Tracking Center (VTC). At the time of the transits, there was a fishing opener taking place. The watch stander at VTC had the system zoomed in on the Narrows to watch the movements of the fishing vessels. Subsequently, the Polar Adventure requested and was given permission to enter the Narrows area. After granting permission, the watch stander zoomed the radar out and realized his mistake: he allowed two tankers in the Narrows at the same time. At no time were the ships less than approximately two miles from each other, and they were both traveling in the same direction.

Once this had happened, there were not any viable options other than to observe the transit. Slowing a ship down would have lessened the ships’ maneuverability; turning it around and moving it out of the Narrows is also risky. The USCG has opted not to issue a Notice of Violation to Polar Tankers as the USCG feels the error was that of the watch stander for giving the ship permission to enter the area. Since this incident, the USCG has conducted an internal investigation to establish how this happened and has established mitigating measures to ensure it does not happen again. All available watch standers were part of the investigation and lessons learned.

This incident took place when there was a towing exercise scheduled for later in the transit. Polar Tankers’ Port Manager from Valdez was onboard the Polar Adventure, along with the ship’s Master and Pilot. SeaRiver’s Port Manager from Valdez, for purposes other than the exercise, was onboard the SeaRiver Baytown, as well as the ship’s Master and Pilot. Onboard the tugs, aside from the tug crew, were representatives from PWSRCAC, USCG, SERVS, and Crowley shore-side staff.