News & Announcements

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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Council board meeting held in Anchorage

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The council’s board of directors met on January 19 and 20, 2017.

Topics included on the agenda included:

  • Presentations by Alyeska Pipeline Service Company, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, and PWSRCAC regarding the change in Alyeska’s marine services contract provider from Crowley Maritime to Edison Chouest Offshore set to take place July 1, 2018. These services include key oil spill prevention and response assets such as escort tugs, oil recovery barges and associated personnel for service in Prince William Sound.
  • A presentation by council contractor Robert Allan LTD outlining some concerns and recommendations on the new escort and support tugs being built by Edison Chouest Offshore for the marine services transition. Robert Allan LTD is a firm of internationally-recognized naval architects and marine engineers known for their innovative designs for vessels of almost all types, from high-performance tugs to ferries to sophisticated research vessels.
  • A presentation by the co-chair of the Alaska Regional Response Team on their recent activities. The Alaska Regional Response Team is in charge of planning responses to oil spills in Alaska waters.
  • A presentation by council staff on the Alaska Regional Response Team’s public outreach efforts to identify dispersant use avoidance areas. This process is part of the January 2016 update to Alaska’s Dispersant Use Plan for Alaska, and is designed to help identify areas 24 to 200 miles from Alaska’s coastline where the use of dispersants should require additional consideration prior to being used.
  • A presentation from council staff regarding cracking that was found and repaired in the lining of one of the secondary containment systems at the Valdez Marine Terminal. In the event of a spill from a crude oil storage tank, secondary containment systems are designed to prevent oil from polluting surface or groundwater resources.

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