Month: January 2017

Marine Firefighting Symposium coming to Homer in May 2017

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Firefighters participate in a simulated vessel fire exercise during the 2015 Marine Firefighting Symposium at the Valdez harbor. Photo by Zac Schasteen.
Firefighters participated in a simulated vessel fire exercise during the 2015 Marine Firefighting Symposium at the Valdez harbor. Photo by Zac Schasteen.

Update 2/9/17: Registration is now open! See Marine Firefighting Symposium 2017 for more.

The ninth Marine Firefighting Symposium for Land-Based Firefighters is scheduled for May 12-14, 2017 in Homer, Alaska. The council is co-hosting this event with our sister organization, the Cook Inlet Regional Citizen’s Advisory Council.

This three-day conference is an industry recognized effort to provide the best available marine firefighting information and practices to shore-based firefighters, using both classroom and field experiences.

The council is pleased to have its nationally renowned training cadre of John Lewis, John Taylor, Don Ryan and Ron Raschio, led by Jeff Johnson, returning to the Symposium. Several of these instructors provided input and material for the land-based shipboard firefighting manual produced by the International Fire Service Training Association. Firefighters and industry participants consistently provide positive comments on the events. The council is able to offer this training at no cost for participants.

More information: Marine Firefighting Symposium 2017

Council recertification application available for public review

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The council is seeking recertification as the alternative voluntary advisory group for Prince William Sound, as authorized under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90). The application has been submitted to the U.S. Coast Guard, which is charged with assessing whether the council fosters the general goals and purposes of OPA 90 and is broadly representative of communities and interests as envisioned under OPA 90.

The recertification application is available here: 2017 Recertification Application. To obtain a printed copy, contact the council at (907) 277-7222, toll-free (800) 478-7221, or email Brooke Taylor.

How to submit a letter of support:

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Vessel construction, planning underway for Crowley to Edison Chouest transition

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Council conducting independent review of vessel designs

This Alyeska chart compares some of the capabilities and specifications of the new vessels to the current fleet. The council is independently analyzing the vessels’ design specifications. Image courtesy of Alyeska.
This Alyeska chart compares some of the capabilities and specifications of the new vessels to the current fleet. The council is independently analyzing the vessels’ design specifications. Image courtesy of Alyeska. (CLICK PHOTO FOR LARGER IMAGE.)

By July of 2018, Edison Chouest Offshore, or ECO, of Louisiana will be the marine services contractor for oil tankers and the terminal in Prince William Sound. Until then, Alyeska and ECO will be working with Crowley Maritime, the contractor who currently provides those services, on a smooth transition between the two contractors. These services include escort tugs, general purpose tugs, oil recovery storage barges and associated personnel, all of which are key oil spill prevention and response assets for Prince William Sound. For instance, two state-of-the-art escort tugs accompany every laden tanker that leaves Port Valdez. One tug is tethered through the confined waterway called the Valdez Narrows, and one tug stands by at Hinchinbrook Entrance until the tanker is 17 miles into the Gulf of Alaska. The primary responsibility of these escort tugs is to rescue or “save” a tanker that may experience problems and prevent oil from spilling, and initiate response efforts should these prevention measures fail.

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Smithsonian partners with council to search for marine invasive species

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Citizen scientists, the Prince William Sound College, the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, and the council partner for invasive species event in Prince William Sound

Linda McCann
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center

An opalescent nudibranch is a native species common in Prince William Sound. This one was found during the September bioblitz. Photo by Nelli Vanderburg.
An opalescent nudibranch is a native species common in Prince William Sound. This one was found during the September bioblitz.

A crew of marine biologists ventured to Prince William Sound this September for the third Smithsonian-led “bioblitz” in Alaska, this time in Valdez. During a bioblitz, volunteer citizen scientists team up with professional scientists to search for invasive marine invertebrates. This year, the Smithsonian partnered with the council and Prince William Sound College for a week of scientific sampling.

Three months before the bioblitz, council staff placed “settlement plates,” sheets of sanded PVC that the invertebrates attach to over time. During the bioblitz, volunteers and staff collected the plates, towed plankton nets, set crab traps, and went scuba diving, to look for various nonnative species.

The study helped establish critical baseline data for future research, invasive species management, and conservation initiatives. Fortunately, no new non-native species were found during the bioblitz or the scientific sampling.

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