Our Statement Regarding the Selendang Ayu Oil Spill

• We deeply regret the loss of life, especially for these men who were so far from their native countries.
• We admire the actions of a foreign ship in U.S. waters to transfer fuel into internal tanks and turn off fuel heaters to lessen the spill, HOWEVER questions have been raised regarding the wisdom of shutting down the ship's engines in the first place.
• Any ship that uses this route should have very good training if they use the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge for safe passage.
• The use of this route for human safety needs should not mean unsafe nurseries and nests for the animals this refuge was created to protect.
• There is a clear need to balance human and animal safety in the Aleutian Islands and the great circle shipping route, but this is also a clear example of what happens when you open a wildlife refuge to commercial activity.

From a historical perspective, how bad is this oil spill?

When the foremost proponent of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Gov. Murkowski, calls this spill a "human and environmental tragedy," you know it's very bad.

The chief marine fisheries scientist for Alaska says "there's almost certainly going to be a cleanup process that will take months, if not years."

This oil spill clearly is the worst economic and environmental disaster since the 11 million gallon Exxon Valdez spill in 1989.

What is the damage to endangered animal life and fisheries?

Before this oil spill, the Bering Sea area had already suffered an 80 percent plummet in Steller sea lions and sea otters, in addition to severe declines in other marine mammal, seabird and fish populations.

It will take years to fully assess the damage from this oil spill, but we know from previous experience that this disaster will harm animals, their habitat and the fishermen who depend upon healthy fish stocks for their livelihood. Unalaska is home to the nation's largest commercial fishing port by volume, and the second-largest by value of annual catch. The spill caused Alaska Department of Fish and Game to close the Makushin/Skan Bay area to all commercial fishing which includes Tanner crab, Pacific cod, black rockfish and other groundfish.

Also at risk are the endangered Steller sea lions, threatened sea otters, and the rapidly declining northern fur seals. The most vulnerable birds include bald eagles, crested auklets, murres, cormorants, ravens and several sea ducks, including eiders, mergansers, black and surf scoters, and harlequins. The nearby crab fisheries, salmon streams, and shellfish beds also are at risk for contamination.

So far, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has recovered a thousand dead birds and perhaps 10-20 times that amount have died and washed away, a number that is sure to climb.

What do we need to do to prevent this kind of accident in the future?

It's crazy to allow hundreds of ships each month to travel through this environmentally sensitive area that's only accessible by boat and helicopter, because it makes it almost impossible to rescue victims and limit the damage to endangered and threatened animal life.

This shipwrecked Malaysian freighter bound for China was only six years old, yet it broke into two pieces, and could spill up to half a million gallons of oil. If this can happen to a boat built that recently, it could happen to many older vessels.

Obviously, Congress must take action to require minimum hull strength and safety standards for boats traveling through U.S. waters. Alaska cannot afford a repeat of this kind of damage to its environment and fishing dependent economy.

This disastrous oil spill requires a congressional investigation just like the Exxon Valdez spill did.