By Neil Huddleston

In May 2003, the state of Alaska started requiring operators of non-tank vessels over 400 gross registered tons to have an approved oil spill plan when operating in state waters.

Since then, several yacht operators have received notices of violation, some resulting in financial penalties, for visiting Alaska without an approved spill plan. Some of these operators have said they were unaware of the plan requirement.

In an effort to eliminate this kind of violation, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is trying to increase awareness of the state's spill preparedness requirements. If you plan to operate a yacht over 400 GRT in Alaska , you must have a state Certificate of Financial Responsibility (COFR) and a state non-tank vessel oil spill contingency plan approval prior to entering state waters. Both are issued by DEC. Minimum lead times prior to entry for submitting applications are 15 days for a COFR and five days for a streamlined spill plan.

The federal COFR and SOPEP do not fulfill the state's requirements. Neither does the Non-tank Vessel Response Plan (NTVRP) that the U.S. Coast Guard is requiring. An operator must have an Alaska-specific plan.

The streamlined plan is a fairly simple document – the form is three pages – that contains information about the vessel and its principals, and certifies the existence of contracts with approved contractors who can provide incident management and cleanup services that meet certain standards. 

The state does not charge a fee to issue a COFR or spill plan approval, but there are costs to secure the incident management team and cleanup contracts required for the spill plan. Captains or designated persons ashore may obtain response contracts and submit a spill plan themselves or with the help of an approved Response Planning Facilitator, most of whom are companies offering maritime services nationwide. For a list of those approved facilitators, click here.

For more information, contact DEC's financial responsibility office in Juneau at +1-90 7 -465-5283, or the spill planning office in Anchorage at +1-90 7 -269- 7 681 or 269-848 7 . There is a link to information and applications online at www.dec.state.ak.us/spar/ipp.

Neil Huddleston is the non-tank vessels plan reviewer with the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, Division of Spill Prevention & Response, Industry Preparedness Program for Non-tank Vessels in Anchorage . Contact him at Neil_Huddleston@dec.state.ak.us.