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Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 98-75577
International Standard Book Number 0-309-06190-3
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Copyright 1998 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Cover Photo Credit: OMI Petrolink.
Printed in the United States of America
COMMITTEE ON OIL SPILL RISKS FROM TANK VESSEL LIGHTERING
DON E. KASH, chair,
George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia
TRICIA CLARK,
Oil Spill Division of Texas General Land Office, Austin
ALFRED COLE,
Chevron Shipping Company, Pascagoula, Mississippi
EDWARD C. CROSS,
Plimsoll Shipping, Inc., Houston, Texas
DUANE H. LAIBLE,
Glosten Associates, Inc., Seattle, Washington
J. BRADFORD MOONEY, JR., consultant,
Arlington, Virginia
STEPHEN D. RICKS,
Clean Bay, Inc., Concord, California
EDWIN J. ROLAND,
Bona Shipping (U.S.), Inc., Houston, Texas
RICHARD J. STEADY,
Maritrans Operating Partners, L.P., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
JOHN B. TORGAN,
Save the Bay, Providence, Rhode Island
W.M. von ZHAREN,
Texas A&M University, Galveston
Liaisons of Sponsoring Agencies
STEPHEN L. KANTZ,
U.S. Coast Guard, Washington, D.C.
ZELVIN LEVINE,
U.S. Maritime Administration, Washington, D.C.
Marine Board Liaison
STEVEN T. SCALZO,
Foss Maritime Company, Seattle, Washington
Marine Board Staff
PETER A. JOHNSON, Acting Director
THERESA M. FISHER, Administrative Assistant
LAURA OST, Consultant
MARINE BOARD
JAMES M. COLEMAN,
NAE,
chair,
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge
JERRY A. ASPLAND, vice chair,
The California Maritime Academy, Vallejo
BERNHARD J. ABRAHAMSSON, consultant,
Superior, Wisconsin
LARRY P. ATKINSON,
Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia
PETER F. BONTADELLI,
California Department of Fish and Game, Sacramento
LILLIAN C. BORRONE,
NAE, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
BILIANA CICIN-SAIN,
University of Delaware, Newark
SYLVIA A. EARLE,
Deep Ocean Exploration and Research, Oakland, California
BILLY L. EDGE,
Texas A&M University, College Station
JOHN W. FARRINGTON,
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
MARTHA GRABOWSKI,
LeMoyne College and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Cazenovia, New York
R. KEITH MICHEL,
Herbert Engineering, San Francisco, California
JEROME H. MILGRAM,
NAE, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
JAMES D. MURFF,
Exxon Production Research Company, Houston, Texas
STEVEN T. SCALZO,
Foss Maritime Company, Seattle, Washington
MALCOLM L. SPAULDING,
University of Rhode Island, Narragansett
ROD VULOVIC,
Sea-Land Service, Inc., Charlotte, North Carolina
E.G. "SKIP" WARD,
Texas A&M University, College Station
Staff
PETER A. JOHNSON, Acting Director
DANA CAINES, Financial Associate
SUSAN GARBINI, Senior Staff Officer
THERESA M. FISHER, Administrative Assistant
DONNA HENRY, Project Assistant
Preface
Lightering first emerged as a common practice in U.S. waters, particularly the Gulf of Mexico, almost 30 years ago. Historically, there has been little reason to question the safety of lightering, despite the apparent risks involved in transferring cargo between two vessels that are under way, drifting, or anchored at sea. However, public concerns about oil spills have drawn congressional attention to lightering in recent years. Concerns have also been raised by some observers of the maritime industry about the safety implications of projected increases in waterborne U.S. oil imports and certain lightering-related provisions of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (P.L. 101–380).
The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 1996 (P.L. 104–324) requires the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) to coordinate with the Marine Board of the National Research Council to conduct studies on the risks of oil spills from lightering operations off U.S. coasts. Accordingly, an 11-member committee was convened under the auspices of the Marine Board. The committee was asked to accomplish the following tasks:
- investigate the frequency and risks of accidents from lightering operations
- assess the existing regulatory and management framework
- recommend measures that could reduce the risks of oil spills
The committee was constituted to include members with expertise in tanker and lightering operations, risk assessment, regulatory and management approaches to accident prevention, oil spill accident analysis, environmental protection, international rules and standards, and USCG prevention and enforcement
practices. The principle guiding the constitution of the committee and its work, consistent with NRC policy, was not to exclude members with potential biases if they had expertise vital to the study but to seek balance and fair treatment of the subject. The biographies of committee members are provided in Appendix A.
The committee met four times over a one-year period, and subgroups of the committee held one additional meeting and visited three lightering operations in the Gulf of Mexico and one in Delaware Bay (a complete list of meetings and presenters is provided in Appendix B). The committee also reviewed previous studies of lightering safety and collected data on accidents and spills from the USCG, industry groups and individual companies, and state agencies. The data are summarized in the report, and additional details are provided in appendices C, D, and E. Additional background information collected for this study included relevant letters (Appendix F), regulations (Appendix G), and industry safety guidelines and checklists (Appendix H).
The study focused narrowly on the risks of oil spills from lightering, which was defined as the transfer at sea of crude oil or petroleum products from one vessel to another. The committee attempted to identify and assess only those spills that could be directly attributed to the lightering operation rather than spills that may have occurred coincidentally during the approach, transfer, or post-transfer phases of lightering. Bunkering, automatic cargo shutoff valves, formal risk assessment, and a comparison of lightering and alternative methods of oil delivery were beyond the scope of the study.
The committee wishes to acknowledge the contributions of the more than two dozen representatives of industry and government who made presentations during meetings and shared additional background information in other contexts. All of this information was crucial to the study process, especially in light of deficiencies in existing accident databases and the decentralization of the lightering industry.
The committee wishes to acknowledge USCG liaison Lieutenant Commander Stephen L. Kantz, who provided background on the regulatory regime and USCG data on lightering-related accidents and spills. In addition, the committee wishes to thank the persons and organizations listed in Appendix B for their extra efforts and valuable contributions to the study. These include: the Coast Guard Captains of the Port and Marine Safety Office personnel in Houston, Galveston, Philadelphia, Long Island Sound, San Francisco, and San Diego; members of the Industry Taskforce on Offshore Lightering; the firms, SeaRiver Maritime, Skaugen PetroTrans, Inc., Chevron Shipping Company, and Maritrans, who provided special data and hosted visits by committee members; and Dr. Zelvin Levine, the Maritime Administration liaison to the study.
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspective and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the NRC's Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the
institution in making the published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their participation in the review of this report:
Gary L. Borman, University of Wisconsin
Dennis L. Bryant, Haight, Garden, Poor and Havens
John W. Farrington, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Michael J. Herz, Consultant
R. Keith Michel, Herbert Engineering
Ronald P. Nordgren, Rice University
Malcolm L. Spaulding, University of Rhode Island
Emmett G. Ward, Texas A&M University
While the individuals listed above have provided constructive comments and suggestions, it must be emphasized that responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.
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Figures, Tables, and Boxes
Figures
1-1 |
U.S. lightering operations |
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1-2 |
Oil spills of more than 10,000 gallons into U.S. maritime waters, 1970 to 1997 |
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1-3 |
Locations of lightering incidents |
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1-4 |
Lightering spills by primary cause, 1984 to 1996 |
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1-5 |
Lightering spills by secondary cause, 1984 to 1996 |
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2-1 |
Crude oil deliveries to U.S. ports by lightering, 1986 to 1996 |
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2-2 |
Designated lightering zones and prohibited areas in the Gulf of Mexico |
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3-1 |
Recommended mooring arrangements for offshore lightering |
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4-1 |
Timeline for Gulf of Mexico lightering |
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E-1 |
San Francisco Bay lightering, 1997 |
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H-1 |
Typical lightering safety checklist |
Tables
1-1 |
Lightering Incidents in the Gulf of Mexico, 1993 to 1997 |
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1-2 |
Spills Attributed Directly to Lightering off U.S. Coasts, 1993 to 1997 |
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2-1 |
Sources of U.S. Crude Oil Imports Delivered by Offshore Lightering, 1994 |
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2-2 |
Traditional Lightering Areas in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico |
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2-3 |
Regimes for U.S. Coast Guard Control of Lightering Operations |
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C-1 |
U.S. Coast Guard CASMAIN Database of Lightering Incidents in U.S. Waters, 1984 to 1996 |
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E-1 |
Summary of Oil Spills, California, 1992 to 1997 |
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E-2 |
Summary of Oil Spills, Washington State, 1992 to 1997 |
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E-3 |
Chevron, Summary of Lightering, West Coast |
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E-4 |
British Petroleum, Summary of Lightering, West Coast, 1987 to 1997 |
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E-5 |
Exxon, Summary of Lightering, West Coast, San Francisco Harbor, 1992 to 1997 |
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E-6 |
Summary of West Coast Lightering |
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E-7 |
Chevron's Overall Lightering Experience, 1970 to 1997 |
Boxes
1-1 |
Definitions |
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1-2 |
Lightering Worldwide |
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1-3 |
A Case of ''Limited Communication'' |
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2-1 |
Requirements for Spill Response Plans |
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2-2 |
Companies That Provide Lightering Services |
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2-3 |
Personnel Involved in Lightering Operations |
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4-1 |
The Lightering Process |
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4-2 |
Responsible Carrier Program |
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