Protect Puget Sound Orca Whales-TUG now

A Permanent, Year-Round Rescue Tug at Neah Bay:
Our Best Protection Against A Major Oil Spill in Washington Waters

The Problem:

Puget Sound and the Northwest Straits are among the busiest shipping lanes in the world. Fifteen billion gallons of oil move across the waters of Puget Sound in ships every year. Our four huge refineries receive tanker-loads of Alaskan oil hundreds of times every year. And cargo ships of all kinds -- accounting for thousands of trips in Puget Sound each carry enough fuel to devastate Puget Sound should a spill occur. In fact, the National Marine Fisheries Service, in listing the resident orca whale as “threatened” with extinction, identified a catastrophic oil spill as the number one threat to the species.

Even in the best-case scenario, efforts to cleanup a spill result in recovery of no more than 20% or so of the oil spilled. The key is to prevent spills from happening.

The Rescue Tug: A Proven Strategy to Prevent Spills:

For the past 15 years or so, a large number of state advisory committees and panels of experts have recommended that a rescue tug be stationed at the mouth of the Strait of Juan de Fuca in order to prevent spills in Washington waters (see Neah Bay Rescue Tug: Report to the Washington Legislature, Department of Ecology, Dec. 2000). It wasn’t until 1999, however, that Congressman Norm Dicks was able to secure funding for a rescue tug at Neah Bay. In subsequent years, the state legislature was able to provide partial funding for the tug so that it could be stationed during the winter months. Unfortunately, state funding for the tug will expire in July 2008 and the state legislature was unable to secure a new source of funding for the tug during the 2007 legislative session.

The rescue tug functions in much the same way a fire engine does. It is stands ready to assist vessels that lose power or are otherwise disabled and risk running aground. Groundings are a major cause of spills around the world. While inside Puget Sound a number of commercial tugs are available to assist a disabled vessel, for the 80 mile stretch of the Strait from Port Angeles to Neah Bay and across the entire outer coast, such tugs are a rarity.

Since 1999, the rescue tug has been responsible for 41 rescues or assists of oil tankers, cargo vessels, and other vessels in the region. Similar success stories surround tugs stationed in Alaska, Japan, France, Great Britain, and across the globe.

Permanent, Year Round Rescue Tug Needed: Support HB 1409 / SB 5344

For the past ten years, we have relied on periodic funding for the rescue tug. Efforts to achieve federal legislation on this topic have faltered. State taxpayers should no longer be asked to pay for the tug---it’s time to require oil companies and other shippers to maintain the rescue tug at Neah Bay. This proposal will reduce the burden on the state budget by an estimated $3.6 million dollars per year.

HB 1409 / HB 5344 will require that oil tankers and other large vessels (over 300 gross tons) entering the Strait of Juan De Fuca contract with a tug provider to site the vessel year round at Neah Bay. The bill sets forth minimum requirements for the capability of the tug and requires that the tug perform occasional training drills. This measure has the added benefit of helping to meet shipping industry oil spill requirements at both the state and federal level. It is also cheap insurance against a major spill, which could cost the state tens of millions of dollars.

Contact: Bruce Wishart, People for Puget Sound, bwishart@pugetsound.org
(360) 754-9177