PORT HUENEME : Panel to Evaluate Harbor Navigation

State oil-spill prevention officials have appointed a committee of local fishermen and other maritime experts to evaluate navigation and safety procedures of vessels using the commercial Port of Hueneme.

Although the Port of Hueneme is minuscule compared to other commercial ports in California, it has been included in a list of harbors designated by a recent state law to develop a plan for safe navigation as a precaution against oil spills.

The California Department of Fish and Game’s Office of Oil Spill Prevention and Response announced the names of the 11-member Port Hueneme Harbor Safety Committee on Tuesday.

Similar committees are being set up to evaluate harbors at San Francisco, Los Angeles-Long Beach, Humboldt Bay and San Diego.

Brian Jenison of the Ventura County Commercial Fishermen’s Assn., appointed to head the local committee, said the giant Alaskan oil spill involving the tanker Exxon Valdez prompted new legislation that called for the harbor safety reviews.

Jenison said the committee will look at anchorage designations for vessels, depth readings in the harbor, communication systems, ship routing procedures, small vessel operations, navigational aids and channel design.

By the end of the year, the committee is supposed to recommend safe-navigation plans to state officials, who, in return, will develop new guidelines and regulations for the harbor.

The Port of Hueneme is the only deep-water port between Los Angeles and San Francisco for oceangoing traffic, said William Buenger, the port’s deputy executive director and a member of the committee.

He said the port has “a minute fraction” of the cargo traffic of the Los Angeles-Long Beach harbor. There are no oil pipelines into the port, and oil tankering is not contemplated there by the port or oil companies.

The port services other oceangoing traffic, including bananas from Central and South America, the export of Ventura County produce, and the import and export of automobiles, he said.