Empty oil tanker with fracture coming to Port Angeles for repairs
Published 6:20 pm Friday, April 3, 2009
The 780-foot oil tanker, S/R BAYTOWN, arrived at Port Angeles April 1 for repair of a small crack on its main deck.
The tanker is owned and operated by SeaRiver Maritime Inc., the shipping affiliate of ExxonMobil Corp.
On March 24, crew members on S/R BAYTOWN discovered a four-inch-long fracture on the port side of the vessel’s main deck as the vessel was preparing to take on a load of crude oil in Valdez, Alaska.
The Coast Guard Officer in Charge of Marine Inspection in Valdez, in consultation with the American Bureau of Shipping surveyor, determined the vessel was safe to proceed to Port Angeles without any cargo aboard. The decision followed inspection of temporary repairs.
The cause of the crack will be determined upon more thorough inspection in Port Angeles.
Both the Coast Guard and SeaRiver Maritime have kept the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) informed regarding the vessel’s progress and intended repair work.
The repairs will take place during the next several days while the vessel is at anchor in Port Angeles. Coast Guard inspectors must approve the permanent repairs before the ship will be allowed to return to Valdez for loading crude oil.
Ecology Spill Prevention Manager Chip Boothe said the damaged area represents virtually no risk of an oil spill to Washington waters.
Built in 1984, the S/R BAYTOWN is a double-bottomed, but not fully double-hulled, oil tanker. It is scheduled to be retired from service in August 2012.
