Alyeska Pipeline Service Company’s Vessel of Opportunity Program recently received a 2015 Alaska Ocean Leadership Award by the Alaska SeaLife Center. Alyeska received the Stewardship & Sustainability Award, which honors an industry leader that demonstrates the highest commitment to sustainability of ocean resources. The award was presented to Alyeska leadership at the Alaska Marine Gala on February 21 in Anchorage.
Several seats on the council’s board of directors are changing hands this spring.
Steve Lewis, City of Seldovia representative, left the board in March, following the city’s election of a new representative. Four others have announced they will be leaving in May at the end of their terms: Blake Johnson, representative of the Kenai Peninsula Borough; Jim Herbert, representative of the City of Seward; Emil Christiansen, representative of the Kodiak Village Mayor’s Association; and Nick Garay, representative of the City of Homer.
Twenty-six years ago today, the Exxon Valdez struck Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, spilling an estimated 11 million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound. While the immediate cause of the spill lies with the captain and crew, complacency on the part of the oil industry, regulators, and the public played a part in the disaster.
Many improvements have been made since 1989. Regulators, the oil industry, and citizens have all worked together to improve the prevention and response system in the Sound. Among many other improvements:
Despite improvements, constant vigilance is still needed to prevent a return of the complacency that allowed the Exxon Valdez spill to happen.
By AUSTIN LOVE
Council Project Manager
In 2012, Alyeska identified a 6 inch wide area of external corrosion on crude oil piping near the end of one of their oil-loading berths, known as Berth 5, at the Valdez Marine Terminal. Corrosion in the 48 inch diameter pipe is of particular concern, as it is located over water.