Oil Leaks Aboard The Cargo Ship BBC Arizona

VALDEZ, Alaska — The Coast Guard, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, City of Valdez, and Gallagher Marine Services, LLC formally established a Unified Command on Wednesday in response to container oil leaks aboard the cargo ship BBC Arizona.

The Unified Command structure brings together representatives of all major organizations involved in an incident in order to coordinate an effective response while at the same time carrying out their own jurisdictional responsibilities. Under the Unified Command, various governmental agencies and non-governmental responders may blend together throughout the operation to create an integrated response team.

“Response to the ship’s container leaks has been a close collaboration between ADEC, the Port of Valdez, BBC Arizona representatives, and the Coast Guard since the start of the incident,” said Lt. Roberto Trevino, Federal On-scene Coordinator Representative. “Establishing a Unified Command allows those involved to build on established partnerships and provides a formal forum for all involved to make consensus, collaborative response decisions.”

On Wednesday, Emerald Services Inc. cleaned and decontaminated the area around the ship’s I-beam cargo in preparation to cut welded brackets holding the beams to the deck. Once the welds are cut, the I-beams will be thoroughly cleaned by Emerald Services Inc. and individually inspected by the Coast Guard prior to removing them from the ship. I-beams and bridge parts stored below deck are the only cargo being offloaded in Valdez. Sorbent pads on deck and boom in the water remain in place.

Personnel from the Coast Guard Pacific Area Strike Team arrived in Valdez Tuesday evening to augment Valdez based personnel during oversight and monitoring of the response. Strike Team members are trained and equipped to field test oil and determine the presence of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

The BBC Arizona’s owner contracted Emerald Services Inc. and Alaska Chadux to actively manage the spill area and mitigate environmental damage. Gallagher Marine Services, LLC, the designated Qualified Individual under the ship’s Vessel Response Plan, arrived in Valdez Tuesday and will serve as the ship’s representative within the unified command.

State of Alaska onscene coordinator, John Engles, inspects sorbent pads placed on the deck of the BBC Arizona following identification of multiple leaking containers aboard the ship in Valdez, Alaska, June 2, 2013. Engles is an environmental prevention and emergency response specialist with the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and represents the state within the incident's Unified Command. U.S. Coast Guard photo.

Response personnel sample transformer oil from containers aboard the BBC Arizona to positively identify potential hazards in Valdez, Alaska, June 5, 2013. Preliminary lab and field tests of several oil samples indicate no presence of polychlorinated biphenlys also referred to as PCBs, a hazardous substance sometimes associated with transformer oil. U.S. Coast Guard photo.

Petty Officer 1st Class Greg Livingston, a member of the Coast Guard Pacific Strike Team, observes I-beam off-loading operations on the BBC Arizona in Valdez, Alaska, June 6, 2013, following the discovery of leaking oil containers aboard the ship. The Pacific Strike Team, based in Novato, Calif., is on scene augmenting Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Valdez personnel during oversight and monitoring of the response. U.S. Coast Guard photo.

Gallagher Marine Systems LLC, the Coast Guard, and Emerald Services Inc. observe offloading operations at the Valdez Container Terminal in Valdez, Alaska, June 6, 2013. North Star Terminal and Stevedore Company must remove I-beam cargo from the BBC Arizona before responders can clean-up and decontaminate the ship's leaking oil containers. U.S. Coast Guard photo.

A Unified Command, consisting of the City of Valdez, Coast Guard, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, and Gallagher Marine Services LLC stood up June 5, 2013, in response to container oil leaks aboard the BBC Arizona in Valdez, Alaska. Response operations June 6 focused on removal of seven large I-beams from the ship to provide better access to leaking containers during cleaning and decontamination. U.S. Coast Guard photo.