Traffic Control System Proposed for Oil Tankers Off California’s Coast

Declaring that a tanker accident is inevitable, ocean explorer Jean-Michel Cousteau called Wednesday for the equivalent of an air traffic control system to guide oil tankers and other ships plying the waters off the California coast.

Testifying before a State Lands Commission meeting at Santa Monica City Hall, Cousteau said that preventing an accident at sea is the only practical way of safeguarding the state’s beaches and sensitive marine life from the ravages of a major oil spill.

“The simple fact is that current (cleanup) technology cannot contain an oil spill of (major) magnitude. We have been cheated. We have been lied to. The world can no longer afford to pay the price we all pay for economic expediency,” said Cousteau, son of Jacques Cousteau, the French ocean explorer and founder of the Cousteau Society.

The U.S. Minerals Management Service, which oversees offshore oil and gas development on the outer continental shelf, has said there is a 94% chance of a major oil spill off Southern California in the next 30 years.

The Coast Guard is proposing to designate shipping lanes, known as fairways, between Los Angeles and San Francisco to minimize the chances of collisions between ships and with offshore oil and gas platforms.

Currently, designated traffic lanes are in place between Los Angeles and Long Beach harbors and Point Conception, west of Santa Barbara, as well as the approaches to San Francisco Bay.

Cousteau recommended that there be constant radar surveillance of shipping lanes and communication between officials supervising traffic and ship captains--similar to what exists between air traffic controllers and airplane pilots.

The State Lands Commission is investigating additional precautions the state can take to prevent a major oil spill and clean it up if it happens.

Traffic control systems exist in Washington State’s Puget Sound and four other channels in the United States, including Alaska’s Prince William Sound where the Exxon Valdez strayed out of the lanes on the night of March 24 and ran aground, causing the nation’s largest oil spill.

Testimony before the National Transportation Safety Board, which investigated the spill, said the Coast Guard’s radar was apparently not powerful enough to follow the tanker’s fateful course toward Bligh Reef, where the vessel’s hull ripped open and spilled 11 million gallons of oil.

Cousteau also said the state should urge the federal government to prevent any ships carrying crude oil or other hazardous cargo from entering state waters if the ships are registered under “flags of convenience”--usually foreign countries with less stringent regulations. Foreign-registered ships often have untrained and inexperienced crews, Cousteau said.