For Immediate Release

February 5, 1999

NAVY WILL STATION TUG AT NEAH BAY, SAYS REP. DICKS

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Navy has agreed to station a standby response tugboat at the mouth of the Strait of Juan de Fuca during an upcoming oil spill response drill and to leave it in place for 60 days, U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks said Friday.

    The ship will be available beginning March 1st to respond to any maritime emergencies in the area, and it "will add significantly to the 'on-the-water' data for an ongoing Coast Guard study of oil spill prevention measures," Dicks said.

    The congressman, a member of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, announced the Navy's plan today saying the Navy was making a "powerful statement" in taking the lead to demonstrate the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of deploying this type of emergency equipment.

    Safety and environmental advocates in the region have called for a standby tug as an interim measure while the Coast Guard studies it and other strategies to improve oil spill prevention and emergency response. Rep. Dicks said "the Navy action in contributing to the [Coast Guard's] additional measures study is truly a sign of good stewardship."

    He said that the test would provide "relevant data for the Coast Guard study" and that "it will give us an additional margin of safety in the Strait during this time." The Coast Guard study also includes an analysis of the industry's voluntary International Tug of Opportunity System, through which all operating tugboats in Washington waters are tracked by satellites and dispatched to emergencies by a new radio communications system. In addition, it encompasses a review of the vessel traffic separation scheme to reduce risks of collision and powered ship groundings.

    Coast Guard District Commander Adm. Paul M. Blayney, Capt. Steven G. Slaton, representing Naval Base Seattle Commander Adm. William D. Center, and Washington Dept. of Ecology Director Tom Fitzsimmons accompanied Rep. Dicks for the announcement, made Friday at the Odyssey Maritime Discovery Center on Seattle's waterfront.

    Rep. Dicks said he has been working with Navy leadership at the Pentagon to heighten the service's awareness of environmental issues in the Puget Sound region. He applauded the Navy's "reaffirmed commitment to protecting what is perhaps the Navy's most environmentally sensitive home port," and said the area-wide oil spill response drill in March is part of a series of new training and preparedness measures planned.

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