Project Background
Updated:March 21, 2011 14:27
Maritime traffic routes in the Aleutians
during the period from August 1, 2009
through November 1, 2009.
Graphic provided by Marine Exchange of Alaska
The National Fish & Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and State of Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) are working on a multi-phase risk assessment of maritime transportation in the Bering Sea and the Aleutian Archipelago. The December 8, 2004 grounding and subsequent oil spill from the M/V Selendang Ayu drove this effort, along with other marine casualties in the region.
Risk assessment is a systematic approach used to evaluate the level of safety of a complex system and to identify appropriate safety improvements. It is an established engineering discipline and has been used in the maritime industry in the past with varying degrees of success. Both the ADEC and the USCG have had experience with maritime risk assessments, and both understand the complexity of the problem at hand, as well as the need for a well-designed process to ensure a successful outcome. Consequently, in 2007 they asked the National Academies to examine the available data and develop an appropriate framework that includes the most scientifically rigorous approach possible for a comprehensive risk assessment, and to design the assessment with a logical sequence of building blocks so that it could be conducted in discrete steps.
Transportation Research Board Study
To conduct this study, the Transportation Research Board (TRB) within the National Academies empanelled the Committee for Risk of Vessel Accidents and Spills in the Aleutian Islands: A Study to Design a Comprehensive Assessment. The committee included individuals with expertise in risk assessment methods and practices; risk assessment data and analyses; risk analyses, with emphasis on evaluation and prevention of ship accidents; commercial shipping, with emphasis on North Pacific operations; navigation safety and voyage planning; U.S. Coast Guard missions and operations related to waterway management and accident response; environmental protection; and regulatory approaches to ship safety and accident prevention.
The committee met three times. During a multiday meeting (October 29–November 2, 2007) in Alaska with a site visit to Dutch Harbor, the committee heard from stakeholders and reviewed available data pertinent to its charge. Stakeholders discussed specific hazards presented by Aleutian shipping operations and a range of possible mitigation measures they believed should be considered for implementation.
At its second meeting, held in Washington D.C. on January 7–8, 2008, the committee received presentations on related maritime risk assessments conducted in Puget Sound, San Francisco, and Europe as well as spill response and environmental impact modeling.
The efforts of this committee culminated with the completion of their report titled: Risk of Vessel Accidents and Spills in the Aleutian Islands. An electronic copy of the report (Special Report 293) can be found at http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/sr/sr293.pdf
Vessel Traffic Overview
A report to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation titled "Vessel Traffic in the Aleutians Subarea" contains useful information for this assessment project. Please click here to go to a series of webpages excerpted from the report, or to download the entire report.
Funding the Risk Assessment
On August 14, 2007, following the M/V Selendang Ayu accident investigation, IMC Shipping Company PTE Ltd., the owner of the ship, pled guilty to two counts of illegal discharge and one count of killing migratory birds. Under the plea agreement, IMC is required to pay $3 million to the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) “for the purpose of conducting an Aleutian Islands risk assessment of the shipping hazardous for that area as well as projects identified by the risk assessment (Selendang Ayu Settlement 2007, page 12)”.
On September 30, 2007, the USCG and NFWF executed a memorandum of agreement establishing the Vessel Source Pollution Prevention and Compliance Fund, under which the Aleutian Islands risk assessment, is undertaken.
Conducting the Risk Assessment
Conducting Phase A of the Aleutian Islands Risk Assessment in accordance with the TRB design is now underway. As set forth in the design, the assessment organization and management structure consists of four groups: a Management Team, an Advisory Panel, a Risk Analysis Team, and a Peer Review Panel. In addition to the U.S. Coast Guard and the State of Alaska (ADEC), the Management Team includes the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), the agency responsible for allocating the funds. A priority for the Management Team was the establishment of the Advisory Panel. The Advisory Panel consists of stakeholders and experts who can offer local knowledge and expertise on all issues pertinent to the assessment, such as local infrastructure, relevant industries, waterways and their navigation, weather, and habitats. See Team webpage for more information on the project organization.
