Aleutian Island Oil Spill

Aleutian Island Vessel Traffic Risk Assessment- Next Steps

In the continued efforts of the SSP working towards safer shipping in the North Pacific, one of the next steps focus on the anticipated Aleutian Island Vessel Traffic Risk Assessment. SSP members will continue to monitor the one year process (USCG/ DEC will most likely start risk assessment around Oct 1, 2006) of the development of the Risk Assessment to ensure that the safety and conservation measures needed and that input/ public comment from communities/stakeholders are incorporated.

Several individuals and organizations sent letters to congressional contacts requesting that they incorporate risk assessment language in to the H.R. 889 bill authorizing funding for the conduct of the US Coast Guard to move forward with the Risk Assessment to address the marine safety, security, and adverse environmental impacts associated with merchant shipping in proximity to the Aleutian Islands of the United States.

• SSP BSAI Risk Assessment Letter to Senator Stevens and Senator Inouye
• Governor's FY07 Budget requesting designation for funding of BSAI Vessel Traffic Risk Assessment

One Year Anniversary- December 8, 2005

• SSP Press Release - 12.07.05
• SSP Settlement Letter - 12.07.05

SSP One Year Anniversary Press Conference
December 7, 2005 in Anchorage, AK
From right to left - Rick Steiner, Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program-UAF,
Walt Parker, Parker and Associates and Jim Ayers, Vice President,
Pacific, Oceana discussing the steps still needed to be taken to work
towards safer shipping in the North Pacific. Photo by Brook Kintz.

The Dove Tug: Missile Defense Agency Correspondence

• Shipping Safety Partnership letter to Missile Defense Agency (8/31/05)
• Missile Defense Agency response letter (11/21/05)
• United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and Innocent Passage

News

Read the latest news on the Selendang Ayu Oil Spill.

Our Statement

Read our statement regarding the Selendang Ayu Oil Spill in the Aleutian Islands.

Action Alerts

Thank you for making your voice heard to prevent oil spills in Alaska's coastal waters and make your voice heard!

Through your efforts of responding to the oil spill prevention petition, approximately 35,800 petition letters were delivered to 477 Congressional targets during the past month via the action alert host Care2's third-party provider, Get Active.

Thank you for taking the time to call upon Congress to require ships using Alaskan routes to meet minimum safety standards, and operate with well-trained crews and adequate resources to respond quickly to emergencies. Alaskan waters deserve at least these basic protections!

AOP Grantees

• Read Oceana's letter to Admiral Collins calling for a spill response risk assessment plan to protect the people and resources of the Aleutian Islands, and an op-ed published in the Anchorage Daily News.
  Visit Oceana's Action Alert Website
• WWF Calls for Risk Assessment, Greater Protections as Bering Sea Disaster Grows
  • Oil Spill Briefing Packet
  • DEC Governor's letter to SSP
  • USCG letter to SSP

History

• Description and statistics of the Selendang Ayu freighter
• Aleutians Sub-Area Contingency Plan [Alaska Regional Response Team]
• Great Circle Shipping Route map [Charles Atkins, Anchorage Daily News]
• University of Alaska Marine Advisory Professor Rick Steiner wrote a series of letters in the late 1990's to Senator Stevens and the US Coast Guard requesting the need to fix risks that have existed and continue to exist in the Aleutian Islands traffic route.
  
  Had Senator Stevens been listened to in 1998, this might not have happened.

Latest Information

• Alaska Dept. of Environmental Conservation
  • New Aleutians Risk Assessment link
  • Port and Waterway Safety Assessment report [1.24-25.06]
  • Situation Report
• US Coast Guard
  • Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund Report
• US Fish and Wildlife Service

Reports

• National Transportation Safety Board Report on the Seledang Ayu
• Port and Waterway Safety Assessment report [1.24-25.06]
• Parker & Associates report on the Selendang Ayu incident
  Recent news on this report
• Prince William Sound Risk Assessment
• Nuka research report on vessel traffic in the Aleutians
• The Seledang Ayu Oil Spill: Lessons Learned- Alaska Sea Grant

Photo Galleries

• Satellite imagery of the Selendang Ayu Oil Spill (from Greenpeace, PowerPoint presentation, under 2MB)
• Photos from the Seattle Times
• Photos from the Anchorage Daily News (70 photos!)
• Photos from the Alaska Maritime NWR Unofficial Website

Resources at Risk

Read about the resouces at risk in the Aleutian Islands.

Shipping Safety Partnership - Selendang Ayu Followup

In response to the tragic Selendang Ayu grounding off Unalaska in Dec. 2004, a number of organizations gathered Wednesday Jan. 18, 2005 in Anchorage and via teleconference to discuss measures that would effectively prevent such a tragedy in the future. Read more...

Donate to AOP

Please help our efforts and Donate Now through the Alaska Conservation Foundation. Indicate that you want your donation to go to the Alaska Oceans Program.