Oil Tankers Would Have Two Escorts Under New Safety Plan
Loaded oil tankers leaving Alaska will be accompanied by oil spill response vessels under a plan submitted by the industry Tuesday to meet state demands for a spill response following the Exxon Valdez disaster.
The new Tanker Spill Prevention and Response Plan for Prince William Sound will guarantee that spill response vessels and equipment will be ready to respond immediately to a spill the size of the Exxon Valdez, said Nick Mitchell, a BP Shipping Co. official who coordinated development of the plan.
The plan, which is expected to cost the oil industry $45 million annually, was developed for the Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., which operates the trans-Alaska oil pipeline and Valdez terminal for its seven oil company owners.
Alyeska is obligated to mount the initial response to any tanker spill and has come under attack for its response to the Exxon spill before the company initiated its own effort.
But while promising to be ready to fight the next spill, Alyeska stopped short of promising any better results.
“If the question is, can we guarantee that we can pick up an 11-million-gallon spill, the answer is no, we can’t guarantee it,” Alyeska spokesman Tom Brennan said.
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