In 2012, the council requested Det Norske Veritas (DNV) to review specifications and performance testing data for Prince William Sound escort tugs with appropriate Class society standards for escort tugs. DNV, headquartered in Norway, identifies, assesses, and advises on how to manage risk, specializing in various industries, including maritime and oil and gas industries.
DNV’s used their own widely accepted Classification Society Standards for escort service to assess the performance of the Ship Escort Response System’s (SERVS) Prevention and Response Tugs (PRT) and Enhanced Tractor Tugs (EET) in Prince William Sound. This assessment determined the extent to which these tugs were in compliance with the Classification Rules for such escort tugs.
One of the main objectives of the project was to safeguard the Prince William Sound from potential damaging consequences from oil spill and terminal and tanker operations by advising stakeholders (like the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company), verifying practices and identifying improvement opportunities. The verification to Class standards of the available escort tugs in Prince William Sound fits directly into this objective as it verifies whether the tugs are fit for service.