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Spring 1998 |
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Inside |
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Vessel Management Work Group |
pg. 1 |
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Great American Fish Count |
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Number and type
Distance from shore
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Potential Strategies to Address Vessel Traffic
Strategies under consideration include:
Distance From Shore - strategies to designate distances vessels should remain from land within the Sanctuary and to establish north-south routes for some vessel types.
San Francisco Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) - strategies to reconfigure part of the existing TSS to move vessels further away from sensitive areas and improve radar coverage.
Compliance and Monitoring - strategies to use (or expand) vessel position reporting systems.
Rescue and Other - strategies to develop a reporting system for rescue tugs, to improve education to mariners about the Sanctuary's sensitive resources, and to collect information on "near misses" at sea.
Note: This is NOT a comprehensive list of strategies.
The Vessel Management Work Group:
Tackling the Challenging Issue of MBNMS Vessel
Traffic
Tackling the Challenging Issue of MBNMS Vessel Traffic
Every day many types of large vessels cross the waters of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS), including tankers, container vessels, tugs, and barges. According to Carl Moore of California's Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR), if a person standing on the Big Sur Coast could see to the Sanctuary's outer edge, he would observe one of these large vessels pass by every two to three hours. In addition to the oil carried by tankers, most of these vessels carry large amounts of "bunker fuel," used to power themselves.
Mention this offshore vessel traffic to almost anyone and you are likely to get a passionate response. The reply may be very different depending on whom you approach, however. This is a controversial topic with a lot at stake, according to both conservationists, who fear the destruction of Sanctuary resources from an oil spill, and industry, which worries about potential economic repercussions from new regulations on its multi-billion dollar activities.
"We all agree that if the oil gets in the water, the game is over," emphasizes U.S. Coast Guard Commander Chip Sharpe. Sharpe is working with the Sanctuary office to co-sponsor meetings of a new Vessel Management Work Group, a panel with a daunting challenge: to define vessel management strategies for Sanctuary waters that represent an acceptable balance between safe, efficient, and environmentally sound marine transportation. The group's primary emphasis is on developing measures to prevent spills from large vessels. Members represent the shipping and petroleum industries, conservation organizations, and local, state, and federal government.
Vessel Traffic in the Sanctuary
Following an initial report on the issue by the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in 1996, Congress mandated that the two agencies work together to further address vessel traffic and sponsor public workshops on the issue. In response, the work group was established to develop initial recommendations which could be presented at public workshops.
Currently there are very few regulations for how and where these vessels can travel as they move along the coast. Vessels approaching San Francisco are required to contact the Coast Guard's Vessel Traffic Service (VTS), which monitors ships and informs them of others they may meet in the area. Additionally, a Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) for San Francisco designates northern, western, and southern approach lanes.
The Coast Guard publishes notices requesting vessels carrying oil or hazardous materials to transit as far from shore as weather and operations permit. However, many large commercial vessels carrying bunker fuel travel as close as 2.5 nautical miles from shore.
Threats to Sanctuary Resources
Twenty-six types of marine mammals, ninety-four species of birds, more than three hundred species of fishes, and an extremely diverse population of marine invertebrates are among the resources at serious risk from an oil spill. "The threatened southern sea otter is critically vulnerable to oil spills," says sea otter biologist Ellen Faurot-Daniels of the Department of Fish and Game's Marine and Wildlife Veterinary Care and Research Center.
Oil spills happen in a variety of ways: collisions and vessel groundings can damage the hull and release oil and other hydrocarbons into he ocean; onboard explosions or other incidents can cause a ship to break up and spill its contents; and vessels may lose power and drift to shore.
Vessel traffic management strategies are designed to minimize risk, but there are inherent challenges for all such plans. Recommended routes which define northbound and southbound tracks for the large container ships and bulk product carriers are popular with many observers, but these must be approved by the International Maritime Organization a cumbersome process. Vessel routing schemes present another challenge: keeping vessels far enough out that a tug can reach a disabled ship before it reaches shore and breaks up, while considering the economic constraints of vessel owners.
What is the Vessel Management Work Group's Role?
The work group began the process of identifying, evaluating, and prioritizing strategies for MBNMS vessel traffic management in May 1997, using a process adapted from the Sanctuary's Water Quality Protection Program. "We brought together diverse participants with their unique areas of expertise to produce some concrete proposals and move forward," says the Sanctuary's Dr. Holly Price, who facilitates the group's meetings with Commander Sharpe.
The group first looked at vessel traffic studies from the Coast Guard, NOAA, the Center for Marine Conservation, the Western States Petroleum Association, and OSPR; strategies from these sources were summarized in a workbook, and then participants gathered background information on each one. "This has helped everyone get to the same level of understanding on all the issues," explains Price. At monthly meetings, the group ranks strategies in terms of environmental effectiveness, social and economic impacts, and feasibility.
Where We Go from Here
The public will have the opportunity to comment on the work group's draft list of proposed strategies at a series of interactive workshops later this year, possibly as soon as early summer. The work group will then reconvene to incorporate the public's input and to develop an implementation plan for those strategies it finds necessary, effective, and viable.
"I have more hope for success with this process and group
than any other I've seen," says Commander Sharpe,
emphasizing the commitment shown by the group members. "They
are so inherently at odds, and yet we have them sitting at a
table being civil with one another looking at their
interests, not their positions. That's why I'm most hopeful
that this will be the process that works." 
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