Shipping Safety Partnership (SSP)

• Current Issues
  • Oil spill settlement to fund safe shipping
• Background
  • The Selendang Ayu disaster
  • What ACE and the SSP are doing

Current Issues

Selendang Ayu oil spill settlement to fund safe shipping in the Aleutians

IMC Shipping of Singapore, owner of the Selendang Ayu, pleaded guilty to a $10 million misdemeanor plea bargain settlement this week dedicating $3 million toward an Aleutian shipping safety assessment. ACE is a founding member of the Shipping Safety Partnership which has fought for such an evaluation since the spill in December of 2004.

Background

The Selendang Ayu disaster

On December 8^th, 2004, the Selendang Ayu ran aground near Unalaska killing 6 crew members and releasing in excess of 300,000 gallons of oil into the Bering Sea. Clean up and recovery efforts were halted for 3 months, shortly thereafter, due to inclement weather. Environmental impact reports indicate that over 1600 birds were oiled with a projection of 10,000 plus sea birds expected dead. The inland food chain has, no doubt, been affected as foxes and other scavengers feed on the carcasses of wildlife killed and washed ashore.

Selandang Ayu courtesy of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The Selendang Ayu was traveling one of the most heavily trafficked shipping routes in the world. It cuts along the Pacific Ocean's " Great Circle Route" through the Aleutian Islands, where every year several thousand ships take the shortest, but most dangerous route between U.S. and Asia ports. The Malaysian freighter ran aground in an environmentally sensitive area so remote that it is only accessible by boat and helicopter, making it difficult to rescue victims and limit the damage to endangered and threatened species, as well as the U.S. fishing industry.

Public Reaction

Local and national environmental organizations are up in arms over this tragically avoidable incident. Everyone’s asking the same question: Did we learn anything about response readiness from the Valdez spill of 1989? Representatives of ACE, the Alaska Oceans Program, US Fish and Wildlife, World Wildlife Fund, Cook Inlet Keeper, The Nature Conservancy, Cook Inlet Regional Citizens Advisory Council, Unalaska and a host of other concerned parties from Alaska, the Pacific Northwest and Washington, D.C. have joined forces to create the Shipping Safety Council (SSP).

What ACE is doing

ACE is working through the SSP to prevent future spill disasters in the Aleutians. Two of our top priorities have been an Aleutian islands vessel traffic risk assessment (what is being shipped, by whom and how often?) and stationing two rescue tugs in the chain (mimicking the currently affective system in Prince William Sound).

Members of U.S. Fish and Wildlife conduct bird carcass collections on a beach littered with soy beans. Photo courtesy of Unified Command

Representatives from the SSP , US Coast Guard, AK Department of Environmental Conservation and US Fish and Wildlife Service attended a March 2005 open forum with the Coast Guard, State, and Federal officials.  DEC and USFWS provided recaps of the environmental impact. The USCG announced it would begin tracking ship traffic electronically through the Aleutian Islands this summer, providing data that eventually could demonstrate the need for new equipment to prevent shipwrecks in the heavily traveled region.

Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund Maintenance Act of 2005

On June 9^th, at the urging of the SSP and other stake holders, Senator Ted Stevens introduced the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund Maintenance Act of 2005.  The Act will reinstate the 5 cents per barrel tax under the Oil Pollution Act to fund the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund (OSTLF) at $3 billion.  If passed, the measure will replenish funds set aside after the Exxon, Valdez accident 16 years ago. It is the SSP’s hope that these monies can be utilized for future prevention measures such as response tugs.

Take Action

As an ACE member you can take action by urging state and federal officials to initiate the same disaster response mechanisms now found in Prince William Sound (post Exxon Valdez) for the Aleutian shipping route by visiting http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/747190478.