Substantial volumes of crude oil and petroleum products are transported off the California coast from Alaska, from foreign countries, and between California production sources. The Los Angeles/Long Beach and San Francisco Bay harbors include some of the highest volume oil importing ports and refining facilities in the United States. Unfortunately, collisions or ship groundings off the California coast, or within its congested ports or harbor areas, have the potential to occur as a result of these operations.
Vessel Accidents
The most recent major vessel collision off the California coast occurred in 1987 when the Atlantic Wing (a car carrier) and the Pac Baroness (a dry bulk carrier) collided off Point Conception, sinking the Pac Baroness. The spill of fuel oil was relatively small, but a cargo of toxic copper pellets went down with the ship. The decade of the 1990's began with two major spills in Southern California that occurred during routine mooring operations at offshore marine terminals. In 1990, the tanker vessel American Trader grounded on its own anchor during mooring operations at the Golden West marine terminal off Huntington Beach. This accident caused an oil spill which affected a substantial portion of the Orange County coastline, but gained even more notoriety because it occurred within months of the tanker vessel Exxon Valdez grounding in Alaska. In 1991, a mooring accident involving the tanker vessel Omi Dynachem occurred at the Chevron marine oil terminal off El Segundo. During mooring operations a vessel anchor got hooked on a 26-inch undersea pipeline, pulled it from the ocean floor to the surface, and caused a rupture, spilling oil into the nearshore ocean waters. These accidents demonstrated the need for Government and industry to develop and implement improved measures to prevent accidents during vessel transit, docking, or when loading or offloading.
Over the years several accidents and close calls have occurred within, or on approach to, the State's ports and harbor areas. In 1971, two Chevron tankers collided under the Golden Gate Bridge causing a major oil spill in San Francisco Bay. The spill adversely affected the Bay, as well as other environmentally sensitive areas such as the Duxbury Reef located about 15 miles north of the Bay's entrance. In 1988, the Arco Juneau ran into the Carquinez Bridge, rupturing tanks that were empty at the time. In Southern California, accidents and near misses have also occurred due to the volume of large vessels such as tankers, freighters, and passenger ships that pass through Los Angeles/Long Beach port facilities. However, new measures to inform mariners about other vessel traffic and hazards, combined with actions taken in recent years by Harbor Safety Committees established pursuant to State law, have substantially reduced the risk of such incidents occurring.
State and Federal Legislation
In the aftermath of Alaska's Exxon Valdez (1989) and California's American Trader (1990) oil spills, the California legislature passed the Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act of 1990 (Chapter 1248, Stats.1990; commonly referred to as SB 2040) and the U.S. Congress passed the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701 to 2761 - and other related sections). Both the State and federal legislation address a variety of issues regarding vessel traffic safety, emphasizing the need to prevent spills through the implementation of marine terminal operation standards and inspections, port safety measures, and overall vessel traffic safety. The Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR; formerly known as the Office of Oil Spill Prevention and Response) is the lead agency for implementing SB 2040 under the direction of its Administrator. The State Lands Commission operates the State's marine terminal inspection and monitoring program, as required by SB 2040, which is coordinated with OSPR and the U.S. Coast Guard.
Navigation Designations and Organizations
A variety of measures have been established to help reduce the risk of vessel mishaps off the coast or within California ports. To facilitate a better understanding of the options for improving vessel traffic safety, several terms and organizations are described below.
Areas to be Avoided. There are currently two internationally adopted Areas to be Avoided (ATBAs) off the Pacific coast which restrict the movement of tankers and barges carrying oil as cargo. The ATBA off the California coast recommends that all cargo carrying ships avoid the area which encompasses the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, except those bound to and from ports at one of the islands. The second ATBA, off the Washington coast, recommends that all ships and barges carrying cargoes of oil or hazardous material avoid the area which encompasses most of the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary.
Harbor Safety Committees. Senate Bill 2040 established harbor safety committees for the harbors of San Diego, Los Angeles/Long Beach, Hueneme, San Francisco, and Humboldt. With representatives from shipping, fishing, tug operation, vessel pilot, government, and environmental organizations, these committees have developed harbor safety plans for each port, identifying key safety issues and making recommendations to the OSPR Administrator. Issues facing these committees include questions regarding the need for escort tugs, required capabilities of escort tugs, and the need for new or enhanced vessel traffic information systems to monitor and advise vessel traffic.
Precautionary Areas. Precautionary areas are designated in congested areas near harbor entrances to set speed limits, prescribe vessel routing, or establish other safety precautions for ships entering or departing a port.
Safety Fairways. Offshore waters in high traffic areas can be designated as safety fairways to prohibit the placement of surface structures such as oil platforms. The Army Corps of Engineers is prohibited from issuing permits for surface structures within safety fairways, which are frequently located between a port and the entry into a Traffic Separation Scheme.
Traffic Separation Schemes. A Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) is an internationally recognized vessel routing designation which separates opposing flows of vessel traffic into lanes, including a zone between lanes where traffic is to be avoided. TSSs have been designated to help direct offshore vessel traffic along portions of the California coastline such as the Santa Barbara Channel. Vessels are not required to use any designated TSS, but failure to use one, if available, would be a major factor for determining liability in the event of a collision. TSS designations are most often in international waters and proposed by the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), but must be approved by the International Maritime Organization which is part of the United Nations.
Vessel Traffic Information Services. Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) or Vessel Traffic Information Service (VTIS) refer to shipping services operated by the USCG or public/private sector consortiums. These services monitor traffic in both approach and departure lanes, as well as internal movement within harbor areas. These services use radar, radio, and visual inputs to gather real time vessel traffic information and broadcast traffic advisories and summaries to assist mariners. California has one VTS located in San Francisco Bay which is federally funded and operated by the USCG. A VTIS is located at the entrance of the Ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach which is funded and operated through a public/private partnership.
This file last modified on: Tuesday, January 24, 2006.