Hawai`i’s spill response capability has not been tested against an oil release of catastrophic proportions. Nonetheless, there have been some close calls — most recently the reefing of the Star Connecticut on the evening of November 6 last. The tanker was carrying 10 million gallons of partially refined oil products bound for terminals in Los Angeles and San Francisco, where it was to undergo further refinement. (Afterward, at least some part of it might well have been returned to Hawai`i, for a total of four trans-Pacific crossings before the final product would be consumed.)
The Star Connecticut was involved in another incident last January 29. At that time, 16,800 gallons of light cycle oil were spilled after the tanker was pushed by a strong current onto the buoy at PRI’s single-point mooring, tearing a hole in its hull.
The Exxon Houston
On March 2, 1989, the Exxon Houston lost 26,200 gallons of crude oil when it broke free of PRI’s mooring and ran aground. After the master of the Exxon Houston was cleared of wrong-doing (such charges are customarily leveled in any incident such as this), Exxon brought a $16 million lawsuit in federal court against PRI for its clean-up costs as well as for the loss of the tanker, which had to be scrapped. Jury selection is scheduled to begin October 15, 1991.
The Hana
Hawai`i’s worst spill to date involved the barge Hana, which discharged 42,000 gallons of heavy bunker oil on January 20, 1987, as it was being towed to Kahului. To quote from the Coast Guard’s report: “Opened covers allowed sea water to enter the tanks and displace the cargo of Bunker C. Additional cargo was discharged as the barge surged through heavy seas, frequently immersing itself. The discharge resulted in an oil slick … approximately 12-25 miles long and 100-200 yards wide…. Cleanup efforts involved an average of 50 laborers daily (90 laborers at peak) and took 5 weeks to complete…. Prevailing winds from the northeast at 20-35 mph and computer trajectories provided by [the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration] indicated that the oil should drift southwest and out to sea with no beach impact. Contrary to these predictions, very strong northerly currents pushed the slick particularly the subsurface oil, toward O`ahu and impacted every beach from Hanauma Bay to Waimea Beach on the North Shore… Cleanup operations were tedious and labor intensive.”
Yet to Come?
In the period from November 1985 to September 1989, the Coast Guard found that the average spill involved 702 gallons of oil. “However,” it noted, “this figure is considered to be inflated due to eight spills, each over 10,000 gallons, occurring” in this period. Most spills actually involved between 50 and 100 gallons, it found.
According to the Department of Business and Economic Development and Tourism, Hawai`i imported more than 1.7 trillion gallons of crude oil and more than 279 million gallons of refined oil in 1988. These figures do not include any oil products imported by the U.S. military.
According to the Coast Guard, “Crude petroleum is the largest single commodity entering the state of Hawai`i. Approximately 60 percent of all petroleum arriving in Hawai`i is shipped from Alaska. A survey of the two largest refineries on O`ahu, Chevron USA Inc. and Hawaiian Independent Refinery Inc. shows that the largest vessel that could be received is a 1,000 foot, 150,000 DWT [dead-weight tons] tanker, with a cargo carrying capacity of approximately 46.2 million gallons. This figure represents our ‘maximum potential spill’ in the event of a catastrophic loss of such a vessel. The average size tanker received at these terminals is approximately 90,000 DWT, with a carrying capacity of approximately 29.4 million gallons. This figure represents our ‘maximum realistic spill’ in the event a vessel suffers a catastrophic loss…. Vessels coming from the U.S. West Coast bound for the Chevron or HIRI offshore tanker marine terminals located off Barbers Point, O`ahu, generally make their approaches via the Ka`iwi Channel, which flows between the islands of O`ahu and Moloka`i. Vessels coming from Alaskan ports primarily approach the offshore terminals via the Kaua`i Channel but on occasion will approach via the Ka`iwi Channel.”
The Coast Guard regularly inspects the barges used to ship oil inter-island and is responsible also for licensing their pilots. Commander David Miller, in charge of investigations for the Coast Guard’s Marine Safety Office in Honolulu, said few serious problems have been found with respect to inter-island barge traffic. He had “no memory of disciplinary action” taken against barge operators or pilots.
Volume 1, Number 6 December 1990