Agency’s Usefulness Disputed Office Of Marine Safety Will Merge With Ecology
The state Office of Marine Safety, touted as the nation’s first independent agency dedicated to preventing oil spills when it was established in 1991, is about to lose its independence.
As preparations continue for the agency’s programs and 23-member staff to be merged into the Ecology Department in July, the value of the office remains a subject of debate.
In three years as a marine safety inspector, Dodge Kenyon is convinced he’s seen an improvement in the condition of vessels plying Puget Sound.
“People know we’re out here,” he said. “They’re looking over their shoulder.”
Few figures are available, but those that are tend to support that view.
In 1994, when the program began, 68 percent of vessels were ranked poor or fair on the risk spectrum. In 1995, the number dropped to 55 percent. Of the vessels inspected a second time by the agency, 89 percent made improvements.
Publicly, some shipping industry representatives agree that the agency has reduced the risk of oil spills.
“They’ve kind of built a fire under us,” said Harry Hutchens, executive director of the Puget Sound Steamship Operators’ Association. “I think they’ve encouraged us to examine what we do and how we do it.”
But privately, many shippers and oil companies have been unhappy with the agency. Some critics say it has done little more than duplicate Coast Guard regulations and generate needless paperwork.
“The vessel operators generally don’t like the office and feel illreated by it,” said Alec Fisken, editor of Marine Digest and Transportation News, a monthly magazine published in Seattle.
The agency’s rules require crews to be well-trained, well-rested and sober when they enter state waters. All vessels must be screened, those that pose the highest risk are inspected and spill-prevention plans are required for oil tankers and barges.
The law that established the agency included a clause which specified that its functions could be folded into the Ecology Department this year.