Near-Misses at Sea Spur Call for ‘Traffic Cop’ : Safety: Proposal would place mandatory tracking of vessels using Long Beach and Los Angeles ports in private hands. Opponents prefer to leave task to Coast Guard.

On Dec. 21, the passenger liner Azure Seas got a nasty welcome as it approached the Port of Los Angeles from Ensenada, Mexico. At 5:30 a.m., about three miles from the breakwater, the northbound vessel had to alter course abruptly to pass astern of a cargo ship headed east for Long Beach from Yokohama, Japan.

Officials say the vessels passed within half a mile of each other--too close for comfort in shipping circles. Lt. Cmdr. Peter Rennard of the Coast Guard’s marine safety office in Long Beach said: “From the descriptions I’ve heard, I would definitely call it a near-miss.”

Such incidents occur too frequently in the approaches to Los Angeles and Long Beach harbors, officials say. With recent oil spills fueling concerns about marine safety, a local panel of shipping industry, Coast Guard and port officials is drafting a proposal to keep closer track of ship traffic off the ports.

Under the plan, the Marine Exchange, a nonprofit port information service, would operate the country’s first mandatory vessel tracking system in private hands.

The exchange now monitors shipping from its hilltop observation station in San Pedro’s Angels Gate Park. The system is small scale and voluntary: It only covers a 5.5-mile-by-8-mile area just outside the breakwater. Shipmasters are not required to maintain contact with the exchange.

Under the proposal, ships within 20 miles of shore would be required to inform the exchange of their course, speed and destination and receive its reports on potential hazards. They would not have to follow its advice on how to proceed.

Some balk at setting up such a system under private control, but proponents say the move makes sense for the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

“This is superior to a governmental, bureaucratic solution,” said Assemblyman Dave Elder (D-San Pedro), the sponsor of legislation that would authorize the private vessel tracking. “We can do it faster and we can do it cheaper with the Marine Exchange.”

The tracking effort, which would be funded through an increase in port tariffs, comes amid pressure for improved marine safety after the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska and last year’s American Trader spill off Huntington Beach.

The proposal is being drafted by the Port and Navigational Safety Committee, an ad-hoc panel made up of representatives of steamship lines, oil tanker owners, tugboat operators, pilot services, the two ports, Navy and Coast Guard.

Support for the plan appears broad but not unanimous. Environmentalists and some state legislators fear that a private entity whose board of directors is controlled by the maritime industry would be unable--or unwilling--to issue navigational commands in an emergency.

At least one member of the shipping industry expresses doubts about placing large-scale vessel tracking in private hands. Chevron Corp. worries that the move could lead to a hodgepodge of ship traffic systems nationwide.

“As a vessel operator you find yourself traveling in and out of many ports in many states,” said Glen Kraatz, government affairs coordinator for Chevron’s shipping division. “It would be a little bit like if you had a series of private air traffic control operations, each one of which might have its own idiosyncrasies. You’re asking for potential problems.”

Such qualms could prove important: Before it can be implemented, the proposal to beef up the Marine Exchange needs the blessing of the state Legislature.

The plan’s backers express confidence that they can line up the necessary support. Capt. James Card, chief of operations for the Coast Guard district that includes California, said his force is endorsing the effort, provided that it conforms to Coast Guard standards.

“The Coast Guard has given a nod to this,” Card said. “It will provide a level of safety and allow the federal government to put its money somewhere else.” The plan, he said, “is being developed in a very professional manner.”

All six of the country’s large-scale vessel tracking systems are operated by the Coast Guard, federal officials said. Three--serving Puget Sound in Washington, Prince William Sound in Alaska and New York Harbor--require ships to check in. The others--covering San Francisco Bay, the Houston and Galveston area and Berwick Bay in Louisiana--are scheduled to become mandatory this year.

In Los Angeles and Long Beach, pilot services track ships inside the breakwater while the exchange monitors vessels in the “precautionary zone” just outside it. Under the Marine Exchange plan, pilot services would continue to keep watch inside the breakwater. The exchange would expand its radar and radio coverage to 20 miles off Point Fermin Light, excluding Santa Monica Bay.

Ships outside the breakwater would be required to call the exchange, identify themselves, give their course, speed and destination, and monitor a special radio frequency reserved for the exchange. The rules would apply to ships weighing 300 tons or more, vessels carrying 150 or more paying passengers and in some situations to boats that are towing or pushing barges.

Experts consider such a system necessary. Though the exchange estimates that more than 90% of ships check in, the problem lies with those that do not. This has contributed to near-misses--especially in the precautionary zone, where vessels traveling to and from Los Angeles and Long Beach harbors often cross paths.

“About 4 a.m., ships are coming up from all over to get a pilot and an 8 o’clock start with the longshoremen,” said John Guest, the exchange’s executive director. “It gets to be a real zoo out there. Then at about 6 to 8 p.m., there’s the mass exodus.”

Pointing to the incident involving Azure Seas, exchange officials say the cargo ship that passed in front of the passenger liner failed to check in. Had it done so, they say, the close shave could have been avoided. Rennard, of the Coast Guard, said: “That’s something a vessel traffic system could very well have addressed.”

Rennard said tightened vessel tracking might also have prevented the American Trader spill, which occurred after the British Petroleum tanker ran over its anchor while attempting to moor at an oil pipeline offshore of Huntington Beach last year.

“There is some indication that the depth of the water that American Trader attempted to anchor in was not clearly understood or known to the people navigating that vessel,” Rennard said. “Part of the function of a vessel traffic service is to be a ready source of information on water depths within its area of responsibility.”

An oil spill prevention law enacted by the Legislature last year calls for the creation of vessel tracking systems in California under Coast Guard or state control.

Supporters of the Marine Exchange proposal are asking lawmakers to change the legislation to allow for privately operated systems. They also want lawmakers to grant the exchange protection from legal liability in case of accidents.

It is unclear whether lawmakers will oblige. Questions are being raised in Sacramento about how the Marine Exchange tracking would work and how it could be kept consistent with other vessel tracking systems in the state.

The most sensitive issue is whether those who operate the systems need authority to issue orders to shipmasters. Assemblyman Ted Lempert (D-San Mateo) said the state’s oil spill law expresses a preference for vessel tracking systems run by the Coast Guard in large part because it has the clout to command.

Los Angeles and Long Beach’s tracking system should have similar authority, said Lempert, a co-sponsor of the legislation. Environmental groups agree.

“It should be closer to an air traffic control system,” said Ann Notthoff, planner with the National Resources Defense Council. “There are instances where people who are observing traffic on a radar screen might have knowledge not available to those on the ship. It’s one more tool to avoid hazardous situations and spills.”

Responding to these concerns, the state Senate’s Select Committee on Maritime Industry has introduced a bill that would allow private organizations to run mandatory vessel tracking under Coast Guard supervision. A Coast Guard officer with the authority of a captain of the port would have to be present at the tracking station 24 hours a day.

Those behind the Marine Exchange proposal say that approach is neither feasible nor necessary. Capt. James Morris, the Coast Guard’s captain of the ports for Los Angeles and Long Beach, said his agency lacks enough personnel. Also, the Coast Guard rarely has to issue orders to shipmasters as part of its vessel tracking, Morris said.

Richard Jacobsen, president of the private pilot service for Long Beach and chairman of the committee drafting the proposal, said the exchange would immediately notify the Coast Guard of ships that ignore hazards. However, he doubts that would be necessary.

“Communications are 90% of safety,” Jacobsen said. “If you get people talking to each other you can almost guarantee safe passage.”