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Alaska Tanker Co News

30 Jul 2015

Long Beach Port Celebrates Environmental Successes

Shipping lines, environmental organizations, trucking companies, terminal operators and a railroad were honored today, July 29, by Long Beach Mayor Dr. Robert Garcia and the Port of Long Beach at the annual Environmental Achievement Awards. The awards are an outgrowth of the groundbreaking Green Port Policy, the Port’s commitment to improving the environment. Approved in 2005 by the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners, the policy put the Port on the path to become a world leader in environmental stewardship. At today’s event, Mayor Garcia introduced the “Mayor’s Green Port Award,” which was presented to terminal operator Long Beach Container Terminal.

30 May 2013

POLB 'Green Flag', 'Green Ship', Program Awards

Green Flag Representatives: Photo courtesy of Port of Long Beach

The Port of Long Beach's Green Flag and Green Ship annual awards honored 20 shipping lines for efforts to improve air quality. Efforts to improve air quality locally were accomplished by slowing ships down or deploying cleaner vessels, or both. The Port’s Green Flag Program was created in 2005 and participation today is nearly universal. In 2012, almost 96 percent of all ships calling at Long Beach slowed to 12 knots within 20 nautical miles of the Port. In 2009, the Port added the 40 nautical mile option and last year, more than 83 percent of vessels slowed from 40 nautical miles.

01 Oct 2001

BP Orders Fourth Tanker

BP has placed an order for a fourth double-hull oil tanker for use in delivering Alaska North Slope crude oil to refineries on the west coast. BP placed orders for three tankers in September 2000. Construction of the 1.3-million-barrel-capacity tankers will begin in early 2002. National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. (NASSCO) of San Diego is scheduled to deliver the first ship in late 2003 with subsequent ships being delivered in 2004, 2005 and 2006. BP will complete conversion of its Alaska fleet to double hulls in 2006. The four-ship order, with options for two additional tankers, has been matched to BP?s Alaskan production plans for the next decade.

23 May 2000

Tanker Stopped After Leaking Oil

An oil tanker owned by Exxon Mobil subsidiary SeaRiver Maritime was ordered back to Valdez on May 22 after developing a leak, the operator of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline said. The SeaRiver Long Beach was about 10 minutes into its journey from the Valdez marine terminal when crew members from an escort vessel spotted an oil sheen in its wake, said Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. The U.S. Coast Guard ordered the tanker back to the terminal, where it was surrounded with boom and examined, Alyeska said. Divers discovered a three-inch hairline fracture in the center cargo tank, a spokesperson said, adding that less than 10 gallons of oil had leaked through the crack. The oil from the Long Beach was loaded the Marine Columbia, operated by the Alaska Tanker Co.

18 Sep 2000

BP Takes Three DH Tankers from NASSCO

Mid last month General Dynamics divulged that its National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. (NASSCO) unit had won a lucrative and much sought after contract to build three double hull tankers for BP. The deal, worth approximately $630 million, calls for a tanker trio which will carry crude from Valdez, Alaska, to U.S. West Coast ports. The contract includes options for three additional vessels, driving the potential price-tag for the project to well more than $1 billion. The design will put strong emphasis on environmental safety, including redundant diesel-electric propulsion systems in independent engine rooms, two propellers, and twin rudders. The ship will incorporate the latest, proven technology in environmental protection, ship navigation, and cargo control systems.

02 Oct 2000

BP Takes Three DH Tankers from NASSCO

Mid last month, General Dynamics divulged that its National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. (NASSCO) unit had won a lucrative and much sought after contract to build three double hull tankers for BP. The deal, worth approximately $630 million, calls for a tanker trio which will carry crude from Valdez, Alaska, to U.S. West Coast ports. The contract includes options for three additional vessels, driving the potential price-tag for the project to well more than $1 billion. The design will put strong emphasis on environmental safety, including redundant diesel-electric propulsion systems in independent engine rooms, two propellers, and twin rudders. The ship will incorporate the latest, proven technology in environmental protection, ship navigation, and cargo control systems.

11 Aug 2005

USCG Accepts Benkert Award Nominees

The U.S. Coast Guard is soliciting for applications for the biennial Rear Admiral William M. Benkert, Marine Environmental Protection Award for Excellence. The program recognizes corporations and businesses involved in marine facility or vessel operations that have demonstrated sustained excellence and outstanding achievement in protecting the marine environment. It also encourages innovations in operations, maintenance, cargo handling, refueling, training, and provides a means for award recipients to share their successful methods and techniques with others in industry. Applications will be accepted from December 01, 2005 to March 31, 2006. Log into the award website at www.uscg.mil/hq/g-m/mor/mor-1/benkert award/overview.htm to receive information on the application process.

12 Feb 2007

BP Addresses Tanker Problems

BP's new fleet of oil tankers, already dogged by cracked rudders and missing anchors, now has a new glitch, according to a report on www.scrippsnews.com. Fleet managers have been forced to replace mooring bitts on three of four ships after tests showed they were defective and one broke down. On Sept. 12, the tanker Alaskan Navigator was approaching the dock in Valdez when a bitt on the starboard bow broke off as a tug boat pulled on a mooring line, according to people with the U.S. Coast Guard, the ship's operator and a Valdez-based oil-industry watchdog group. When it broke, the heavy iron bitt shot over the side of the ship and plunked into the water. Fortunately, no one was in the way when the bitt broke loose, said Cmdr.

09 Feb 2007

Problems Continue to Plague BP Ships

BP's new fleet of oil tankers, already dogged by cracked rudders and missing anchors, now has a new glitch. Fleet managers have been forced to replace deck fixtures called mooring bitts on three of four ships after tests showed they were defective and one violently broke down. Mooring bitts are stout metal posts around which ropes are lashed for tugging on ships or securing them to a dock. On Sept. 12, the tanker Alaskan Navigator was approaching the dock in Valdez when a bitt on the starboard bow broke off as a tug boat pulled on a mooring line, according to people with the U.S. Coast Guard, the ship's operator and a Valdez-based oil-industry watchdog group. When it broke, the heavy iron bitt shot over the side of the ship and plunked into the water.

01 Feb 2007

BP Tankers Back in Service Following Anchor Malfunction

BP says it has put a fleet of double-hull tankers back in service after two ships lost their anchors last month in the Gulf of Alaska. The Alaskan Navigator and the Alaskan Frontier have each been outfitted with two new anchors. A spokesman said an investigation found the metal in the China-made anchors might not have been properly tempered to strengthen the metal. Beaudo says the fleet's operator, Alaska Tanker Co. of Beaverton, Ore., flew replacement anchors from the Netherlands to Seattle. The fleet's four ships were held for repairs. A San Diego shipyard built the 941-foot tankers for about 250 million dollars each, with the first of them going into service in the summer of 2004.

25 Jan 2007

New Anchors Outfitted on Alaskan Tankers

Tank ships operated by the Alaska Tanker Company (ATC), ALASKAN NAVIGATOR and the ALASKAN FRONTIER were outfitted with new anchors and are back in service. Two other tank ships, the ALASKAN LEGAND and ALASKAN EXPLORER each had a new temporary anchor installed and are operating under restrictions outlined by the Coast Guard. The decision to replace all the anchors on these vessels were made by ATC after it was discovered the original anchors were showing signs of metal failure. The Coast Guard, Washington Department of Ecology and Alaska Tanker Co. are still investigating the cause of the failure of the anchors.

12 Jan 2007

Anchors Break Free of Two Oil Tankers

Two of BP's new double-hulled oil tankers are sitting idle off Washington state after each lost an anchor while sailing through rough North Pacific waters, company and Coast Guard officials said Thursday. An investigation into how the anchors got away revealed "material defects" in the enormous steel claws, said Anil Mathur, president of Alaska Tanker Co., a Beaverton, Ore., company that hauls North Slope crude oil for BP. Each anchor weighs 16 tons, stands more than 13 feet tall, and hangs at the bow of one of the identical 941-foot ships. One ship, the Alaskan Navigator, discovered an anchor missing on Dec. 26 and the Alaskan Frontier lost one Dec. 23, Mathur said. The tankers were hauling crude through rough seas to West Coast refineries when they lost the anchors, Mathur said.