News & Announcements

Send us your project ideas!

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The Council is currently updating its five-year project plan and would like to incorporate feedback and ideas from you, our valued stakeholders.

For consideration, project ideas should support our mission of promoting the environmentally safe operation of the Alyeska terminal and associated tankers. More about the Council and our mission. 

How to submit a project idea

Need help or have questions? Find a staff member to get help (PDF).

Deadline: Comments and suggestions are due by September 10, 2021.

Schantz: Safe transportation of oil requires local knowledge

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By Donna Schantz, Executive Director

Photo of Donna Schantz
Donna Schantz

Since 2016, there has been an increase in foreign flagged tankers loading Alaska North Slope crude oil from the Valdez Marine Terminal, or VMT. While foreign flagged ships are crewed by licensed and professional mariners, these vessels may introduce increased risk of an accident or oil spill due to the lack of familiarity with the unique environmental conditions or prevention and response systems in our region.

A lack of familiarity with the operating environment appears to have been the cause of an incident in the Gulf of Alaska on April 14 with the foreign flagged tanker, Stena Suede. This unladen vessel arrived ahead of its estimated time to load oil at the VMT, with other tankers scheduled ahead of it.

Instead of the customary response in this situation – picking up a marine pilot at the Bligh Reef station and proceeding to the only designated safe anchorage for large vessels in our region at Knowles Head – the Stena Suede decided to hold off in the Gulf of Alaska. When the winds started to pick up, the crew dropped anchor about 20 miles outside of Hinchinbrook Entrance. Subsequently, they were unable to pull up the anchor due to damaged equipment and the vessel proceeded to drag anchor for more than 24 hours, losing some mooring equipment as well. Once the crew made repairs, they proceeded to the VMT, loaded oil, and left without any further issues.

Image shows the path of the Stena Suede as it dragged its anchor in the Gulf of Alaska.
Path of the Stena Suede at anchor. View full size image.

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New tool to support Regional Stakeholder Committee

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Do you know if you or your community is prepared to advocate for themselves in the case of an oil spill? The Council recently developed resources to support affected stakeholders during such an event.

The new toolkit was designed to support citizens who would participate in a process known as a Regional Stakeholder Committee. However, some of the tools would be useful for anyone affected by an oil spill.

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Corrosion protection system for terminal’s crude oil pipes in good shape overall

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Keith Boswell from National Pipeline Services observes cathodic protection system equipment at the Valdez Marine Terminal in 2019.

A recent study of operations and maintenance of Alyeska’s cathodic protection system found that the program was “very good;” however improvements are still needed.

National Pipeline Services, a consulting company that specializes in cathodic protections, conducted the study for the Council. They looked specifically at the systems that prevent corrosion in the metal piping that carries crude oil through the terminal to the large oil storage tanks.

The researchers based their report on a review of documents, procedures, testing, and results from previous inspections of those systems.

The final report summarized the systems currently in use at the terminal, as well as Alyeska’s methods for monitoring and testing the systems.

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