Dec 5, 2007 3:59 pm US/Pacific
Bay Spill Sparks Debate Over Coast Guard Authority
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ―
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United States Coast Guard
AP
The Coast Guard is giving a lukewarm reception to efforts to enhance the agency's authority over ship traffic in the wake of the San Francisco Bay oil spill, and said Wednesday Congress' top priority for the Port of San Francisco should be elsewhere.
"We wouldn't want to see an unintended consequence of any proposal relieve a ship's captain or pilot of their ultimate responsibility for the safe operation and navigation of any vessel," said Coast Guard spokesman Cmdr. Brendan McPherson.
McPherson said he couldn't comment specifically on legislation that Sen. Barbara Boxer was finalizing Wednesday that would specify that in case of emergency or hazard, the Coast Guard "may command the operator of a vessel to modify the speed or direction of a vessel."
The authority of the Coast Guard's Vessel Traffic Service has become an issue in the wake of the Nov. 7 spill because VTS officials questioned, but didn't correct, the course of the cargo ship Cosco Busan before it sideswiped a support of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. The crash spilled 58,000 gallons of fuel into the bay, spoiling beaches and killing birds.
Coast Guard officials have maintained that was the proper role for the VTS, which they have repeatedly emphasized is different from air traffic control and has a primarily advisory role, though it can also direct ship movements in certain situations.
Boxer, D-Calif., told reporters this week that the scope of the Coast Guard's authority over individual vessels "was very confusing" and her legislation would clarify it. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein also have raised the issue.
McPherson said that "Coast Guard authorities could be strengthened."
But he said that the most important thing Congress could do for Coast Guard safety in the Port of San Francisco would be to fund creation of a joint integrated command center at the port that would put the Vessel Traffic Service and other components of the Coast Guard and other agencies under one roof, something that exists now in other ports but not at San Francisco.
"Establishing an integrated operation center in San Francisco would go a long way toward increasing the preparedness of the Coast Guard and our local and state partners to both prevent and respond to incidents like the Cosco Busan," McPherson said.
He had no immediate estimate of how much that would cost, but noted that creation of such integrated command centers is provided for under the SAFE Port Act of 2006.
"I would say right now probably the most important thing for them to do would be to look at providing the resources necessary to establish one of those joint integrated command centers," McPherson said.
Boxer's spokeswoman Natalie Ravitz said the senator considered a number of legislative proposals before deciding to address VTS authority.
"Frankly, this was an issue we spotted that was easy to correct. The Coast Guard's ability to intervene should not be ambiguous," she said.
"What we want to avoid is a situation where the Coast Guard VTS is watching a ship, off-course and traveling too fast, and they feel powerless to intervene. There shouldn't be any ambiguity in a situation like that," Ravitz said.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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