But right now, the money for such a tug just isn’t available, and the risk of a catastrophic spill in the inlet grows with each passing ship.
“Cook Inlet has always provided a constant flow of accidents,” said Vincent Tillion, a member of the Southwest Alaska Pilots Association. The vessels available in the area are inadequate to prevent problems, he said.
When a problem does occur, like the grounding of the Seabulk Pride in February, Kachemak Bay is the best, if not only, place to anchor a ship for repairs, he said.
But the bay also is designated as a critical habitat area and national estuarine reserve, making it one of the worst places environmentally to anchor a ship that is leaking oil, said several of the panelists.
Capt. Mark Devries, the U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port, has the ultimate authority to send a damaged ship to the bay. He said he would be reluctant to send a leaking vessel to Kachemak Bay.
But there aren’t many realistic options in Cook Inlet.
Kachemak Bay is considered one of nine potential places of refuge for Cook Inlet, according to Leslie Pearson with the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.
Other places of refuge include the Port of Anchorage, Port Graham, Seldovia and Port Chatham, Whittier, Nikiski, Drift River and Seward.
Devries said he looks at each port of refuge when determining the best place to put a damaged vessel and makes his determination on a case-by-case basis.
In the case of the Seabulk Pride, that best place was Kachemak Bay.
Still, many of the presenters worried that a leaking ship in the bay could cause devastating affects to marine life and fragile ecosystems throughout Cook Inlet.
“Kachemak Bay is not only the state’s premier critical habitat area, but it is a vibrant area with a marine-based economy,” said Mike O’Meara, board member of Cook Inlet Keeper.
And the area needs all the resources we can get to make the area a safer port of refuge, he said.
Some sort of prevention vessel, like the tugs currently available in Prince William Sound, topped many of the presenter’s lists.
Homer Mayor James Hornaday said he has been working for years to get some sort of prevention vessel into Cook Inlet.
But so far, a source of funding has yet to become available.
Hornaday called the meeting to determine what it means to be considered a port of refuge. He said he was pleased with the information given by the panel and will continue to work to get a tug to the area, possibly through Homeland Security funds or working with state legislators.
“Whether it is with private, state or federal funding, somehow we need to get a large enough tug to Cook Inlet,” Hornaday said.
Hornaday said he has been to many meetings like the one Monday, and most people have agreed that such a vessel is a necessity. It’s just a matter of finding the money before Cook Inlet has another accident, he said.
Ben Stuart can be reached at ben.stuart@homernews.com.
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