The next Marine Firefighting for Land Based Firefighters Symposium will be held in Seward on October 8-10, 2013.
Through this program, firefighters and responders from Alaska coastal communities will be provided hands-on classroom and field training opportunities that are tailored for the challenges faced in Alaska.
Welcome to the newly redesigned home on the web for the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council. This new site is designed to help us keep you better informed about our work.
The site has a number of new features that you may find helpful:
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Thank you and we hope you find the new site and features helpful.
The Council’s Port Operations and Vessel Traffic Systems (POVTS) committee members have been aware of severe historical wind events that have caused the terminal’s operators to halt transfer of oil to a tanker because the required containment boom around the tanker could not be maintained. This boom is required in order to contain any oil that might be spilled during transfer of cargo. High winds and the resulting waves can adversely affect a boom.
Booms placed around tankers as they are being loaded presents a first line of defense in preventing the spread of oil in an inadvertent spill. Heavy weather limits the effectiveness of booms and impacts loading operations. Developing better information concerning the relationship between weather and loading, with a focus on potential mitigation measures can only help to improve safety during loading operations.
The report titled “Wave induced Delays in Cargo Transfer at the Valdez Marine Terminal – Berth 4” by Marie Kartezhnikova, Orson Smith and Peter Olsson is a preliminary investigation for the council of wave-related difficulties in boom deployment and effectiveness at Berth 4 of the VMT.
2012 Wave-induced Delays In Cargo Transfer At Valdez Marine Terminal Berth 4
The report was, in part, an academic exercise. Kartezhnikova was a graduate student enrolled in the University of Alaska Anchorage, studying the design of ports and harbors. Smith is the instructor of that course and a member of the council’s POVTS committee. Olsson is the Alaska State Climatologist at the UAA’s Environment and Natural Resources Institute. Olsson provided expert opinion on wind climate and origins of extreme wind events at the site. None of the authors were compensated for this work. Council financial support was limited to travel expenses for a site visit in October 2012.
Kartezhnikova presented the findings in this report at the council’s Science Night event on December 13, 2012.
The council’s board of directors met at the Embassy Suites in Anchorage on January 17 and 18.
Significant agenda items and actions by the board included:
• A presentation on a manufacturing flaw that led to a small leak on one of the crude oil loading arms on Berth 4 at Alyeska’s Valdez tanker terminal. Because all four loading arms on the Berth suffer from the same defect, Berth 4 has been shut down until the extent of damage can be verified and repairs can be made. Because the repairs are difficult during the winter, it appears that some loading arms on the berth will remain out of service for an extended period of time, requiring the terminal to operate with reduced loading capability.
• A report on a long-running series of problems that have prevented Alyeska from completing repairs to the liners for the secondary containment system—diked holding ponds, essentially—around some of the crude oil storage tanks at its Valdez tanker terminal. Alyeska received a notice of violation from the state on the problems in 2008 but, despite a series of repair completion efforts and deadline extensions from the state, the company has yet to resolve the problems with the liners. It is presently in discussions with the state regarding an extension of the deadline to sometime this year.