Responders Re-Float Seabulk Pride, Vessel Steams Toward Lower Cook Inlet
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Last updated Sunday, February 5 - Responders successfully re-floated the 574-foot Seabulk Pride Friday morning at 8:30 a.m. before escorting south out of the ice flow and bringing it into port in Kachemak Bay around 5:00 that evening.  Divers surveying the vessel Saturday noted a dimple in the hull that appears to require repair before continuing to Washington where it will offload its cargo.  There is no indication of leaking product in or out of the vessel, according to authorities.

The U.S. Coast Guard approved the vessel's transit to Kachemak Bay as a Place of Refuge after preliminary surveys aboard the vessel determined that the vessel was sound to continue there. 

At approximately 5:25 a.m. Thursday, an ice flow struck the double-hulled/double-bottomed tanker tearing it away from its mooring at the KPL Dock where it had been loading fuel product and pushed it hard aground one-half mile north of the dock, approximately 200 yards north of the ASRC/Rig Tenders facility (see photo at left).  The M/V Champion attached a two line tow to the Seabulk Pride but was unable to pull the vessel free by itself.  Unified Command had planned a second attempt to pull the tanker off the beach with the high tide Thursday evening but safety concerns regarding one of tugs and other considerations postponed the attempt to approximately 7:00 a.m. Friday.  The service vessel Seabulk Nevada, Stellar Wind and Glacier Wind were in the immediate vicinity preparing for the attempt before a fourth vessel, the tug Pacific Challenger, arrive at 6:00 a.m. Friday and assisted with the effort.

The tide was estimated to be at a +17 when the vessel went aground and a -0.4 low tide occurred at 1:37 p.m. leaving the vessel high and dry with even its prop out of the water.  Friday morning's tide of +22.6, approximately a foot higher than Thursday evening's tide proved adequate to re-float the vessel and allow tugs to pull the tanker into deeper waters.

Responders saw no oil in any overflights during the day even using an infrared camera.  In the event of a spill, 880 bbls of storage are available on-scene.  Five skimming systems are also available, three of which are a "rope mop" type.  Because the fuel on board is extremely viscous, it must be heated to be removed.  There are no plans to lighter the fuel before towing it from the beach, however, the crew is heating the viscous product in the event that some or all of the fuel must be removed.  A temporary generator placed on the ship is providing limited power on board the tanker during low tides when the ship's regular power system must be shut down.

Two large tugs had also been summoned from Prince William Sound but were not expected to arrive until later in the day Friday and Saturday.  The 7200 hp Sea Voyager tug had been en route with an estimate arrival of Noon Friday while a sister vessel, the Bulwark and Barge 450-3, with a capacity of 149,700 bbl would not have arrived until 4 p.m. Saturday.

The Joint Information Center has established a telephone number for periodic updates at 907.776.7405.

The tanker is carrying 94,951 barrels of Vacuum Tower Bottom Blend (VTBB), a viscous oil similar to asphalt, 5346 bbls of bunker fuel and 12,400 bbls of Heavy Vacuum Gas Oil (HVGO), both of which are also heavy fuels, 12,870 bbls of gasoline, and 3527 bbls of gas and diesel wash. Tesoro reported that approximately five barrels of product spilled when the ship broke away from the dock. Three barrels remained on the vessel deck and the other two may be on the ground or in the water although responders have not seen sheen in the vicinity. The vessel was transferring both gasoline and HVGO at the same time so the exact volume of each product has not been determined. Tesoro's loading lines and dock are secure.  Responders confirmed that the vessel tanks are secured at this time and an overflight before noon revealed no visible damage or sheen.

Unified Command is headquartered at CISPRI with an outpost in Homer to be near the ship.  CIRCAC personnel responded to CISPRI shortly after the call at 6:52 from the Coast Guard.  The CIRCAC office has been maintaining notifications to board members, fielding calls from interested citizens, and assisting and observing Unified Command thoughout the response.  Tesoro, response contractors, federal, and state authorities held a press conference at the Kenai Visitor Center Thursday afternoon to brief reporters and interested community members.

More information including photos and archived situation reports is available on the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, Division of Spill Prevention and Response web site. 

Seabulk Pride photo and diagram source: Tim Robertson/Nuka Research


CIRCAC Takes a Closer Look at Platforms in Inlet
Report Provides Insight into Dismantlement, Removal, and Restoration (DR&R)

NEW!  CLICK TO SEE THE INTERACTIVE FACILITY MAP

Declining production and lack of information in Cook Inlet led CIRCAC to develop a white paper concerning the Dismantlement, Removal and Restoration (DR&R) of platforms and facilities located within Cook Inlet At its May meeting, the Board of Directors approved the final draft for publication. The final report includes a map of all facilities and associated pipeline infrastructure, a dossier on each offshore facility in Cook Inlet describing its site topography and geography, age, production status, lease stipulations, ownership history, and DR&R status CIRCAC also summarized relevant Alaska attorney general opinions regarding liability as part of the report.

The project manifest from concerns that no single source of information existed to assist CIRCAC and its constituent groups in understanding the complexities of DR&R The white paper reviewed current state and federal regulations and suggested a course of action; reviewed current lease stipulations and regulations to establish jurisdictional authority for DR&R; and identified the permitting process for removal and summary of potential significant impacts of infrastructure dismantlement, removal and restoration.

CLICK HERE for Part 1 of the report (Pages 1-23, 413 KB)
Part 1 contains the narrative and recommendations found in the report.

CLICK HERE for Part 2 of the report (Pages 24-80, 5.11 MB - large file)
Part 2 contains supporting documents including lease agreements, maps, and specifications

Read the latest on some of our projects in the quarterly newsletter, the COUNCIL BRIEFS

CIRCAC Workshop a Success
Physical Oceanography Gathering Showcases Projects

CISPRI announced recently that they will replace the response and towing vessel, Seabulk Montana, with the Seabulk Nevada. The latter completed its drydock in Louisiana in preparation for the trip to Alaska.
The two vessels will meet in Seward where crane, communications, and other equipment can be transferred to the Seabulk Nevada. The existing crew in Alaska will also transfer to the new vessel. Doing so will ensure the personnel is familiar with the Inlet and its dangers.
CISPRI has stated that it will contract with a temporary vessel for the period that both Seabulk vessels will be out of Cook Inlet. CIRCAC personnel will tour the replacement vessel after it arrives in mid-December.

CIRCAC Recertification Approved
Coast Guard Notes Supportive Comments

The Coast Guard approved the annual CIRCAC application for recertification in a recent letter to our organization.  CIRCAC serves as the alternative voluntary advisory group permitted under Subsection 5002(o) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 and submits a detailed summary of its activities each year for the Coast Guard's review.  The recertification is valid through August 31, 2006.

Public comments received on our application were all supportive and noted positive efforts, good communication, and broad representation of Cook Inlet communities as CIRCAC carries out its duties under OPA 90.  In the time leading up to their decision, the Coast Guard encourages interested parties to submit written data, views, or arguments regarding the application.

In recent years, the Coast Guard changed its policy on recertification procedures requiring applications to provide comprehensive information - as was required in 2005 - triennially, or every three years.  Applicants submit information describing substantive changes to the information provided at the previous triennial recertification during the intervening two years.

Council Briefs Profiles Alaska Native Representative
Lifelong Alaska Resident James Showalter

The Council Briefs highlights James Showalter in the fourth of a series of Board Member Profiles.  Before Kenai had many roads, before the landing strip moved from the beach to the site of the old NAPA building, James Showalter and his family made a living in the area mostly off the land and sea. His family’s fishing site just north of the first trap (an earlier method of beach site fishing) provided his introduction to a way of life he maintains in some respects today.

“We always got by and had a little extra,” Mr. Showalter said of commercial fishing and growing up in the Kenai area over the past 50 years.

It’s through this lens of a lifetime in the area that Mr. Showalter views his role as the Alaska Native Organizations along Cook Inlet as their representative on the CIRCAC Board of Directors.

Growing up in what is now Old Town, Mr. Showalter often visited the Kenai Commercial store which occupied the building across from Boy Scout Park that now houses a law office. The business belonged to the family of another current board member, Doug Jones, who originally encouraged Mr. Showalter to consider volunteering for CIRCAC.

The Sterling Highway didn't punch through the mountains to Kenai until the 1940s and prior to that, Mr. Showalter and his family would often catch a ride aboard a fish tender headed to Anchorage. Modern medical care sometimes came to the area by way of ship as well. According to Mr. Showalter, the U.S.S. Hope, a Navy hospital ship that made voyages to the South Pacific during WWII, would stop near Salamatof Processors and word of mouth would quickly spread.  He also recalled the local landmark watering hole, Kenai Joe’s, at a time when the bar was in the back and the front room was reserved for roller skating and meetings.

“We had these little keys that you had to use to clamp the skates to your shoes. That key was very important.”

In the late 1950s, Mr. Showalter enlisted in the Navy, and after boot camp in San Diego, California, he spent much of his remaining time aboard the U.S.S. Hancock, an aircraft carrier with over 5000 personnel based out of Alameda on San Francisco Bay. He commented that he'd been very happy to return to home and told others at the time that if anyone wanted to find him, he’d be in Kenai, Alaska.  He found work in Swanson River oil field during a period of dramatic change.

“There were people all over, bars going wild, lots of home construction,” he said.

Mr. Showalter built his home on Longmere Lake since the location was closer to work and at the time had only a dozen or so other residents. He rode the wave of construction and oil field work as a millwright at the Valdez TransAlaska Pipeline Terminal, on various North Slope jobs, and on the new addition at Unocal, among other projects.  In addition to his work on the CIRCAC Board of Directors and its Environmental Monitoring Committee, Mr. Showalter has been active in Alaska Native politics and tribal work. He has participated over the years with the Alaska Native Intertribal Council, Beluga Commission, National Congress of American Indians, and the Federal Subsistence Advisory Board. Mr. Showalter is also a member of the Peninsula Food Bank Board of Directors.

Alaska Oil Spill Permits Tool Completed
CIRCAC Expects to Speed Spill Responses

After months of collaboration and review, the Alaska Oil Spill Permits Tool is complete and available on the Internet. CIRCAC and other members of the Alaska Oil Spill Permit Workgroup are pleased to share what we believe is one of the most useful response tools to be created in Alaska's oil industry history. The tool is designed to increase the efficiency of filing the correct permits during a response and thereby decrease the time necessary to deploy human and equipment resources.

Alaska's current statewide oil spill response system involves a complex assortment of permits, forms, and applications that must be prepared and filed during various phases of the response. The new tool provides streamlined access to over 40 important documents. The permit tool allows the user to locate the appropriate form by sorting the permits either by the agency that requires the form or by the type of oil spill response activity that would necessitate the permit.

The Alaska Oil Spill Response Permit Tool was developed to facilitate the process of identifying, filling out, and filing with the appropriate agency the forms and permits required to carry out an effective spill response. The tool was developed through a cooperative work group process, including representatives of those state and federal agencies whose permit forms are included in the tool, as well as representatives from the oil industry and oil spill response organizations.

The tool includes approximately 40 permits, forms, and applications. This set of forms represents the documents most commonly required during oil spill response operations in Alaska. The permit forms themselves were reviewed by the appropriate state or federal agency before they were included in this tool.

The tool also allows the user to input incident-specific data, which is then exported to a data set that is available for import into the specific permits, forms, and incident response planning documents that are included in the permit tool. Once individual permit forms are filled out, they may be saved as Portable Document Format or PDF files to be printed, e-mailed, or faxed to the appropriate agency or organization. The application for viewing PDF's, Acrobat Reader, works across different operating system platforms and is widely available for free download. Much of the text in the permit tool is hyperlinked, which means that the user can click on a word or phrase in order to navigate throughout the tool. Hyperlinked text will cause the cursor to display a pointed finger, as opposed to an arrow.


Read the latest on some of our projects in the quarterly newsletter, the COUNCIL BRIEFS