Vessel Traffic Overview

Updated:October 9, 2009 14:51

Vessel Type and Fuel Oil Capacity

With regard to vessel type and fuel oil capacity, the largest database is contained within the applications for nontank vessel (NTV) certificates of financial responsibility required for vessels at and over 400 gross tons operating in Alaska state waters. Although many of the vessels on innocent passage through Unimak Pass do not have spill plans filed with the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC), the 1608-vessel ADEC database, summarized in Table 1 and Figure 3, provides the best available profile of vessels by type. Information from this database is applied to subsequent analysis and discussion of vessel traffic.

Information regarding the type and quantity of fuel oil used by each vessel type is summarized in Table 1. For the purpose of this discussion, persistent fuel oils are heavy or intermediate fuel oils with specific gravities near 1.0. Non-persistent fuel oils are less dense and include marine diesel and #2 fuel oil.