Practice helps improve spill prevention and response in Prince William Sound

Practice makes perfect – or so the saying goes. Alyeska’s Ship Escort Response Vessel System (SERVS) has applied that motto to how it approaches oil spill prevention and response in Prince William Sound (PWS). SERVS’ primary purpose is to prevent oil spills through an escort system that helps tankers navigate the 70 miles through PWS to the Gulf of Alaska. The better the prevention, the lower the chances that a major spill will occur. But despite the best efforts and all the technology in the world, you can never eliminate risk altogether.

Each year, Alyeska exercises a response scenario to test the coordination between Alyeska, the federal and state agencies, and one of the Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) marine shippers. Members of these groups work months in advance to prepare the drill scenario. BP hosted this year’s annual exercise May 1-3 in Valdez.

“One of goals was to make sure everyone involved was successful and that we could all safely meet the drill objectives, primarily the smooth transition from Alyeska to BP,” said Mike Meadors, SERVS Manager and Incident Commander for Alyeska.

Controlling a spill and minimizing the environmental impact can be an unpredictable and even daunting challenge. Factors such as tidal patterns, water currents and wind are difficult to predict. Spill responders at Alyeska understand this predicament and that’s why they spend countless hours testing response equipment and drilling various spill contingency plans.

Spill response throughout the United States is governed by the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan, more often referred to as the National Contingency Plan (NCP). The NCP helps ensure that the various organizations are working effectively and efficiently when they arrive at the scene of an event.

Under the PWS Tanker Contingency Plan, Alyeska is required to organize the annual exercises and helps develop the simulated responses. Alyeska spends more than $60 million annually on oil spill prevention and response in PWS, and has over 1,300 dedicated personnel, including local fishermen, assigned to this effort, mostly through SERVS. Created in July 1989, SERVS is considered one of the most prepared oil spill prevention and response organizations in the world.


Photos courtesy of Sara Francis, Public Affairs Specialist First Class, United States Coast Guard