November 25, 2007
SFist Photo: Exxon Valdez Doppelgänger Visits SF Bay
Down at the docks, infamous container ship Cosco Busan is San Francisco's latest tourist attraction. The oil tanker in the background on the left is S/R Long Beach, an almost identical twin of Exxon Valdez.
So, here's an update on the oil spill. The gash in the Cosco Busan was being thoroughly inspected down near Third Street the last we saw.
Why is it that the single-hulled 980-something-foot-long Exxon Valdez is effectively banned by the government from hauling petroleum from southern Alaska to the west coast, while the very similar single-hulled, 980-something-foot-long S/R Long Beach is still at work?
And what do Cosco and Hanjin and the others have to say? And of all the people with a role to play in this medium-sized tragedy, who's winning the straight shooter award (so far)? Find out after the jump.
Well the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 states that ships that dump more than a million gallons of petroleum into U.S. waters are no longer welcome to use Prince William Sound. The 'Deez has lots of bad juju associated with it so you're not likely to ever see it again. It was built in America as an Alaska Class Tanker so not being able to go The Last Frontier was a certainly a blow to its owners. The SeaRiver Long Beach (aka Exxon Long Beach) has had its own share of bad luck but it hasn't been involved in a major spill, so it keeps chugging along just as the Exxon Valdez did.
Double hulling, or something similar, of tankers should be coming soon, so the S/R Long Beach might not spend too many more years coming back and forth to San Francisco. Even the controversial Chevron Condoleeza Rice was made double-hulled. Seems to be the trend.
A lonely stranded Busan crewmember on patrol near the bow.
It's not too early for a lawsuit, is it? Let's try to make sense of things by hearing from some of the players involved with the Busan.
"COSCO Group confirms that M.V. "COSCO Busan" is not owned, managed, operated, or chartered by COSCO Group or any of its companies."
"As Synergy Maritime fully operates the ship as well as manages the entire crew including the captain, Hanjin Shipping has no legal responsibility in this accident."
"Regal Stone's first and most important concern is the response. We are not discussing the investigation or any legal matters out of respect for the process."
Well, O.K. then.
A worker inspects the large gash on the port side of the Busan
And who is it that seems to have his or her facts straight during this entire affair so far? That would appear to be The Bone. That's United States Coast Guard Eleventh District Commander Admiral Craig Bone. Of course, people will disagree on matters of opinion, but facts are facts and he seems to have a good handle on them. He has his fans anyway.
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The S/R long beach has been safely calling on SF Bay terminals for nearly 20 years. She is not the only single hulled tanker out there.
It is not news that the ship is either here or is the sistership of the Valdez. In point of fact the Doppelgänger reference is being made from a position of fear and ignorance. Suggest checking your facts against the reality of the situation with tankship operations in US waters.
Make no mistake about it, shipping is a risky business no matter how you cut it. It is a constant competition between forces whether its environmental, structural, human or otherwise. The fact is these mariners do thier utmost to navigate safely and with great care. To criticize the system underwhich these crews and thier vessels operate is a great dis-service to the entire industry.
These are the risks we take when transporting cargo by sea.
Didn't say the Long Beach spilled any oil.
Didn't say the Long Beach is the only single hull tanker out there.
I'd say most Bay Areans are ignorant of the fact that the 'Deez has been effectively banned from its raison d’etre while the virtually identical Long Beach soldiers on. This is news to some people.
If somebody wants to say they aren't virtual twins, I'm all ears.
The Bone says, "There were skilled enough individuals on board this ship. They didn't carry out their missions correctly." Only time will tell how things pan out.
There sure are risks in sea cargo transport!
I was on the Oakland/SF ferry when the accident happened. Didn't hear a thing. I also didn't see a thing, but that's not a surprise, since I couldn't see the guy sitting across from me. Seriously, I've only lived here for 8 years, but that morning was the thickest fog I've ever seen, as thick as winter tule fog in fresno.
How much do you bet that planes headed to SFO were delayed that morning? That's because there are risks in transporting people by air, and the FAA knows that, and they minimize them as best they can.
Did you know that the fog was so thick that day that they stopped loading containers on/off in Port of Oakland? There are risks in that too, and I guess they didn't want to drop a couple of tons of steel in the wrong place.
So how about this. When it's too foggy to load cargo, it's also too foggy to move cargo. It's a no-brainer. All this BS about "considering" escorts and new fog regulations is ridiculous -- it should have been in place already, should be in place now, shouldn't take months of hand-wringing and deliberating.
Maybe they'll get streets in SF named after them.
Lookie here, in the Sunnyside (or is it Westwood Heights?), the Exxon lives on . . .
Ha ha, yeah. I ride my bike up Monterey all the time past Hazelwood and Valdez (nice neighborhood...can we call it Excelside Wood?).