A year after the Cosco Busan spill

One year ago today, the Cosco Busan container ship hit the Bay Bridge, spilling more than 50,000 gallons and causing San Francisco Bays largest vessel-related oil spill in over a decade. The spill galvanized local leaders to improve Californias oil spill response policy. Despite this progress, the high frequency of oil spills worldwide and the international nature of the shipping industry require new federal legislation to improve shipping practices to prevent oil spills before they happen.

A history of spills
The Cosco Busan incident was not an anomaly. Oil spills are all too common, and there is a dire need to improve shipping standards. Within one month of the Cosco Busan tragedy, we saw devastating oil spills in Korea and the Black Sea. Here on the West Coast, the Selendang Ayu spilled 330,000 gallons of oil near Alaskas Aleutian Islands in 2004, closing down fisheries in the heart of one of Americas most productive fishing regions. In 1999, the New Carissa spilled 70,000 gallons of fuel along the Oregon coast.

And lets not forget the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska. On the eve of its 20th anniversary, the devastating impacts of that spill still plague local residents. The Exxon Valdez oil spill compelled lawmakers to improve safety standards for oil tankers - but excluded cargo ships. Since then, cargo ships have increased in size and carry huge amounts of fuel, escalating the risk of significant oil spills from cargo ships.

Progress in California
After the Cosco Busan oil spill, frustrated community members questioned why response agencies didnt prevent the oil from spreading throughout the bay and reaching marshes, wetlands and other sensitive wildlife habitat. As a result, state legislators made significant progress reforming Californias policies on oil spill response and preparedness. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law seven of the 10 oil spill bills passed by the California Legislature, substantially improving communication and coordination between state agencies and local authorities, and requiring on-the-water oil spill responders to demonstrate their readiness and competence.

Unfortunately, the governor vetoed several critical bills to technologies and tools used to respond to oil spills, as well as a requirement for faster responses. Mandating these key standards must remain a priority for California leaders.

The need for federal legislation
While these are important improvements, we need federal legislation to prevent future spills and truly protect our Bay and coastal waters. As ships traverse state and national boundaries, so too must shipping safety requirements. Despite increased shipping between the West Coast and Asia, adequate safety and prevention measures are not in place to protect the North Pacific and Californias coastal waters.

After the Cosco Busan oil spill, some federal legislators - led by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Greenbrae, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi - demonstrated a strong commitment to preventing future oil spills. Boxer co-sponsored new legislation designed to mandate double-hulled fuel tanks on cargo ships and to improve vessel tracking and Coast Guard oversight. But these efforts have stalled, as the country turned its focus to elections and the economy. Our next president and Congress must prioritize shipping safety to ensure that no community or ecosystem must endure another oil spill.

To protect the San Francisco Bay from another oil spill, we need quick action. It took Congress only 18 months after the Exxon Valdez oil spill to pass legislation improving safety standards for oil tankers. Lets not wait years before implementing national and international prevention measures that will protect us from cargo ship spills and prevent the next Cosco Busan. Preventing a spill is simply the most effective way to protect the bay, its wildlife and our communities.

Important first steps in increasing shipping safety
Federal (Approved by committee, but hasnt yet been scheduled for a floor vote.)

S. 2699 - Requires cargo ships to have double hulls around fuel tanks and directs the Coast Guard to improve vessel tracking to prevent navigational errors and accidents.

State (Passed by the California Legislature, vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Sept. 29.)

AB2547- Establishes grants for research and development of better tools and technologies for oil spill response, containment and cleanup.

AB2032 - Increases the cap on the barrel fees that fund the Oil Spill Prevention and Administration Fund from 5 to 8 cents in order to provide reliable, long-term funding for the States oil spill program and the other oil spill bills in the 2008 legislative package.

Source: Pacific Environment

Sejal Choksi is the baykeeper and program director for San Francisco Baykeeper. San Francisco Baykeeper is a pollution watchdog, using science and advocacy to reform policy and enforce clean water laws. www.baykeeper.org David Gordon is the executive director for Pacific Environment, which protects the Pacific Rim environment by promoting grassroots activism, strengthening communities and reforming international policies. www.pacificenvironment.org

 

Statement of Copyright & Liability Exemption
1:All rights, including copyright, in the content of these Portscenter.com web pages are owned or controlled for these purposes by the Portscenter.com. In accessing the Portscenter.com's web pages, you agree that you may only download the content for your own personal non-commercial use. Except where expressly stated otherwise, you are not permitted to copy, broadcast, download, store (in any medium), transmit, show or play in public, adapt or change in any way the content of these Portscenter.com web pages for any other purpose whatsoever without the prior written permission of the Portscenter.com.
2: We deemed that users of Portscenter.com have legal right on articles, news etc posted by themselves and Portscenter.com has combined rights since user's posting on the site . Portscenter.com should not assume any responsblity on copyright infringement if any.