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Close Call for Troubled Tanker

To a casual observer, the Neptune-Dorado resembled any other tanker. But to the Coast Guard, the Greek-owned, Singapore flag-flyng ship, which sailed into the Bay this September, raised a series of red flags that may have averted an environmental disaster.

All ships flying under foreign flags are required to give the port 24 hours advance notice of arrival, according to Coast Guard Commander Steve Boyle, Chief of Inspections in the SF Bay Area. The ship is run through the agency's Port State Control Matrix, which rates each ship's risk level, taking into account the flag the ship is flown under, the type of ship, its prior safety history, and the length of time that has passed since it last entered U.S. waters. The Coast Guard wants to identify all substandard vessels, says Boyle, as well as ships flying under "flags of convenience."

According to UC Berkeley ship safety expert Alaa Mansour, less-then-scrupulous private companies often operate under flags of developing countries, where crews can be hired cheaply and safety standards may not be as high as they should be.

The Coast Guard automatically boards ships that have not been in the U.S. in four years or more - such as the Neptune-Dorado. During the inspection, officers discovered over 30 problems-non-functioning fire-fighting pumps, failed bonding cables, and oil leaking into the engine room and bilges, among others. Although the Coast Guard planned to escort the Neptune-Dorado back out of the Bay, the Tosco refinery in Rodeo was desperate for the crude oil it carried and requested that the ship be allowed to continue its journey. To do so, says Boyle, the Coast Guard required the ship to be flanked by two tugboats (tankers ordinarily have one) and several oil spill response vessels, and to sail with Coast Guard inspectors on board.

But the Neptune Dorado's troubles multiplied while the ship was docked at the refinery. Tosco inspectors found discrepancies between the amount of oil shown as received and the amount the ship was unloading. This led to the discovery of oil in the ballast tanks, says Boyle, which could have caused an explosion or contaminated the Bay. To prevent these disasters, inert gas was injected into the ballast tanks to displace the oxygen, and the remaining oil was carefully offloaded. The ship's captain was arrested and the tanker was escorted to the San Francisco Dry Dock by the tugs and oil spill response vessels.

Although disaster was averted, the Coast Guard is investigating who certified the vessel as safe and what efforts the captain made to communicate his knowledge of the ship's problems to its owners (which he is required to do). A more immediate concern is cleanup of the Neptune-Dorado's ballast tanks, which must be done before the cause of the leaking oil can be ascertained. Because the tank-cleaning process releases hydrocarbons, which could violate local air quality standards, the ship has been sent out to sea to clean its ballast and cargo tanks. It will then return to San Francisco for further inspection.

The fact that the ship was a tanker raised the risks of an environmental disaster in the Bay exponentially, according to Boyle. Like many other tankers, the Neptune-Dorado only has a single hull protecting the Bay from its dangerous cargo. Single-hulled tankers are being phased out slowly, and the Neptune-Dorado has until 2008 to upgrade to a double-hull. So just how many leaky or unsafe ships (tankers and others) are entering the Bay? In 1999, a total of 3,192 ships came into Bay waters, according to Boyle. Of those, 470 were boarded by the Coast Guard, and only three were detained because of safety problems.

The handling of the Neptune-Dorado shows just how shipping safety has improved over the past several years, says James Card, retired Rear Admiral with the Coast Guard, now with the American Bureau of Shipping. "The Coast Guard's standards are very high," says Card. "The issue then becomes how well these standards are enforced. I think the Coast Guard has been very effective at isolating these 'flags of convenience.' Folks are getting the word. Really bad actors won't want to come to U.S. waters because they know they'll be detained or turned away." Contacts: Commander Steve Boyle (510) 437-3119; Rear Admiral James Card (Ret.) (281) 877-6440 LOV

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