Comments on: Pathfinder Slams into Bligh Reef Spilling Diesel and Raising Serious Questions

By: Joel Rogers

Joel Rogers — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 23:27:21 +0000

Just to add some questions and background on the Pathfinder grounding: As per the Coast Guard initial report the Crowley tug was returning from scouting ice. And as the Anchorage DN Dec.25 report states the tug was returning from the Hinchenbrook entrance area in 2 foot seas, 10-15kts of NE wind. Looking at the chart, the ship was headed due north in open water at between 9 and 12 knots (estmated) until approaching Bligh Reef and the course change for Valdez . Though I’m not sure what steering systems the Pathfinder now has aboard, from my experience as a sailor aboard Crowely tugs similar to the Pathfinder, the ship would often run on automatic pilot (instead of a man at the traditional spoked wheel, tugs like the Pathfinder would have a system on the bridge console that would hold the rudder to an officer-set course. At almost all times – and I say this from standing watch in tugs from Whittier to San Francisco – there are two men in the wheelhouse. And usually the sailor stands at the bridge console watching the compass course and the way ahead. Now the report on the Pathfinder says there was a crew of six. If a tug was “going outside” on a longer run such as the old Hydrotrain from Seattle to Whittier they have eight crew members: Captain, two mates, three sailors, a cook and an engineer. And the crew (one officer and one sailor per watch stand two four-hour watches each day. But harbor tugs such as the Pathfinder’s current job would have usually a captain, a mate, two deckhands, an engineer and a cook – and the four sailors would stand a 6 hour watch twice a day (12-6, 6-12)(That is my assumption). Now put it together. It was dark by then. The Pathfinder’s report to the Vessel Traffic came in at 6:15PM. That report most likely came some time after the grounding and inspection: 5, 10, 25 minutes? When did the ship actually strike? What course was it on when it did? And where, exactly did it hit? My bet is the 12-6 watch was still on duty and the Pathfinder had not yet changed course. They might have set a return course too close to Bligh Reef. Regardless, the watch in the wheelhouse was not paying attention for a long time. If the ship was about to change course there would have been extra awareness. If it was time for a watch change ( usually between 5:45 and 6PM) it is somewhat busy on the bridge, but the level of awareness is still high, and lastly the new watch would have fresh eyes. The Captain – normally with the 6-12 watch – was most likely finishing dinner when the ship struck. So sad to say one man or woman’s career is damaged along with the Pathfinder. All this is my conjecture; but it may shed some detail on what might of happened.

By: zyxomma

zyxomma — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 03:09:35 +0000

Offshore drilling annoys/irritates/scares the sh*t out of me! When I was visiting Sydney in 1987, I met some great guys to have a drink with. They said they were on leave, & I knew (by their haircuts, clothes, & tats) they weren’t military, so I asked, from where? They told me they were ashore for a month (might’ve been 3 weeks) from their rig, where they were drilling for oil offshore. I told them that was the scariest thing I’d ever heard, since Oz is famous for having the planet’s most pristine ocean water. They thought I was one deranged hippie for having this opinion. I told them bluntly, “Where there’s offshore drilling, there’s oil spilling,” whether a few drops or thousands of gallons.

Fast forward to months later, at home (NYC). I was reading one of my local papers, and saw that there had been a massive Australian oil spill, which had wiped out the fairy penguin population on the North Island of New Zealand. All I could think of was the naivete of my drinking companions.

Of course, Exxon Valdez should have ended this filthy practice forever, but where there’s profit to be had, someone will exploit it.

Enough of my rant. Health and peace to all.

By: VernD

VernD — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 01:08:43 +0000

#27 Alaska Pi: I really think the failsafes are already there. Perhaps the question is how do we correct the all too common malady called ” Cranial Rectal inversion”?

By: stef g.

stef g. — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 22:09:37 +0000

Blue Banshee: The tugs are owned and operated by a private company under contract with the Valdez Terminal, operated by Alyeska Pipeline Service company, which is owned by the producer companies, Exxon, BP, etc.
Alyeska was very focused on Oil Spill Contingency preparedness for about three years after Exxon Valdez, but then began cutting back, with cost cutting and the reduced value of the throughput as an excuse.

By: Homer@Homer

Homer@Homer — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 16:09:19 +0000

Gosh, does it really say “SEPERATION ZONE” there? Is this an official map of some kind? One hopes they can pilot better than they spell — but I guess we know the anwer to that.

By: Lainey

Lainey — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 15:37:13 +0000

Endangered Polar Bear #25

Bingo! …this will be the next fantasy talking point that comes from the right.

By: Kimosabe

Kimosabe — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 15:02:07 +0000

Thanks Vern @23 for your insight. I took a tour of PWS in 1988; the guide confidently assured everyone that “we have safeguards on top of safeguards, there could never be a spill here.” Exxon valdez happened the next year. So, talk to me about Pebble Mine, or ANWR, or drilling offshore near Florida or cape cod.

By: Alaska Pi

Alaska Pi — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 14:12:52 +0000

As we wait to hear what is formally said to have caused this grounding, I find myself wondering how we (humans=we) keep the necessary sense of duty and urgency alive to pay attention …
AKM’s charts, Hedgewytch’s notes about distance out of shipping lane, the light 59 feet above sea level…
the so-called backup of USCG radar at Valdez…
Do people do something so often they quit paying attention or do they give into distractions like mentioned here?
We had a nasty mess here in Southeast when a licensed sewage operator turned off an alarm he was tired of listening to… and many homes were flooded with raw sewage… What kind of training was missing that personal irritation overrode systems checks?

We too have groundings every year in well marked areas of nautical hazard. The fuel spills are minimal compared to what could happen north of us but none are ignored or accepted as the-way-things-go. And it almost always comes down to inattention…

Regarding traffic in PWS, how do we make what VernD rightly calls a “free card” (almost) into a playbook of how not-to-do things? How do we build fail-safes instead of backups? How do we keep it all alive in our heads , day after day, year after year?

By: strangelet

strangelet — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 08:41:09 +0000

@23: Thanks, VernD. It seemed to me that this was an inexcusable error, but what do I know about sailing in Alaska?

One point, related to your examples of other inattention. Distracted driving is, indeed, dangerous, as is a texting train engineer. But it seems to me that in this case the distraction must have extended over five to ten minutes. Even I can type 140 characters in less than 5 minutes, and then, you know, look up.

By: Endangered Polar Bear

Endangered Polar Bear — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 07:26:31 +0000

This would never have happened on Sarah’s watch, or with a Republican congress, or under a Republican POTUS, or if Sotomayor was not made a member of SCOTUS, or if Curtis Menard Sr. or Jr. were still alive, or if Katie Couric wasn’t such a nasty gotcha interviewer, or if Sarah’s girls were not threatened with gang-rape on the internet, or if John McCain had let Sarah make a concession speech, or if Norm Coleman’s votes had been honestly and accurately counted.