Memorandum 15-206 Abandoned and Derelict Vessels Task Force Meeting

Memorandum 15-206

TO:                       MAYOR BETH WYTHE & HOMER CITY COUNCIL

CC:                        KATIE KOESTER, CITY MANAGER

FROM:                  BRYAN HAWKINS, PORT DIRECTOR/HARBORMASTER

DATE:                   NOVEMBER 9, 2015

SUBJECT:           ALASKA ABANDONED & DERELICT VESSEL TASK FORCE MEETING

I traveled to Anchorage on October 27, 2015 to attend the third ADV Task Force meeting for this year.  There were a total of 18 in attendance; agencies and organizations represented at the meeting were USCG waterways management, ADNR, ADEC, ADOT, USCG (sector Anchorage).  There were also three representatives from the Orusararmiut Native Council.  Call-in participation included the Bethel Harbormaster and Amy McElroy of Senator Murkowski’s staff.  Holly Wells and Katie Davies provided legal advice to the group.  I attended as a representative of the AAHPA and the City of Homer.

The group briefly discussed a new case study vessel (96’ wooden tug Challenger) which recently sank in Juneau’s Gastineau channel.  The Challenger was turned out from the Juneau harbor systems as a nuisance vessel, a couple months prior to it becoming a casualty.  It is interesting to note that the local Juneau newspaper covering the Challenger disaster asked the same questions that led to the forming of the ADV Task Force: How did this happen?  Who and where is the responsible owner?  Is it insured?  Who is going to clean it up and pay for it?  Can we stop this from happening again?  How much is it going to cost (no really, how much)?  Folks get angry when an incident like this happens in their back yard and they start demanding answers from their State and local government.

The focus of the meeting was centered on the review and revisions of the State of Alaska’s statute 30.30 that covers abandoned and derelict vessels, which is where the attorney team from Birch Horton, Bittner and Cherot weighed in.  A comparison with other ADV statues in Washington, Oregon, California, and Florida was briefly reviewed.  Holly presented a rough draft version of State of Alaska’s 30.30 and the group worked through the proposed revision line by line.  There were many cause-and-effect questions that came up during this discussion that will need to be worked out before we can zero in on a finished product.

The main point I highlighted to the group is that INSURED VESSESLS ARE NOT ABANDONED VESSELS.  They may be derelict vessels, but if they are insured then they aren’t abandoned because there is a responsible party: the insurance company.  Anyone who values their vessel insures it against loss.  All viable commercial operations insure their assets.  That led to a discussion about insurance requirements and what size a vessel would have to be before insurance would be required.  We also discussed enforcement: how could mandatory vessel insurance be implemented?  How do we protect Alaska from the uninsured vessel?  

There is still much to do, but I’m encouraged by the progress we’ve made on this very complex issue.  It’s a privilege to work with such a dedicated and talented group of people.  We will meet again February 2016.

Recommendation

For Informational Purposes