National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA Ocean Service Office of Response and Restoration

NOAA Roles in Response to Sunken and Derelict Vessels Doug Helton

Presentation Summary

• NOAA Roles and Concerns• Threats from Wrecks• NOAA Databases• Response to Threats• Wrecks vs. abandoned vessels

Terminology

• Salvage• When a vessel or cargo has

residual value. • Removal incentive

• Wreck Removal• When vessel or debris has no

significant value.• Contract removal

• Abandonment

NOAA interests in shipwrecks• National Marine Sanctuary Program

• Office of Coast Survey

• Office of Ocean Exploration

• Office of Response and Restoration

Threats from wrecks• Oil pollution and Hazardous

Cargoes

• Smothering from vessel/debris

• Chronic source of debris

• Navigational obstruction

• Trawl and navigation obstruction

• Physical destruction of habitats

• Illegal dump sites

• Nutrient enrichment

• Entrapment and Safety Hazard

Oil Pollution from Wrecks

Hurricane Katrina Salvage and Wreck Removal, 2005

Hazardous Cargo:• 1944: the M/V Empire

Knight ran aground on Boon Island Ledge, ME. The vessel was carrying a mixed cargo, including mercury

• 1987: The Pac Baroness sank off Pt Conception, CA. The vessel was carrying 280,000 gallons of fuel and 21,000 tons of powdered copper

Threats to Navigation

Habitat Threats

M/V Clipper Lasco Grounding, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 2006

Wildlife Entrapment

• F/V Paradise Queen, Kure Atoll, NWHI

• Entrapment of endangered monk seals

Human Health and Safety

Public Safety

Visual eyesore and loss of tourism

• F/V Van Loi, Kauai

• Oil, debris, and fishing gear spread along hotel beach

Source of Marine Debris

• Vessels can be a significant source of marine debris and in some situations can become debris themselves

• Vessel debris following Hurricane Katrina

Empire, Louisiana

Samala Photos

•As vessel deteriorate, they become a source of debris

Illegal Dump Sites

• M/V Kimton, Fajardo, Puerto Rico• Vessel used for illegal

dumping of waste oils and explosives

• Abandoned Barge, Louisiana. Potential dumping site

NOAA Databases

• Abandoned Vessels (primarily affecting corals)

• Automated Wrecks and Obstructions Information System (Navigation hazards)

• Resources and Undersea Threats (historic and pollution)

Abandoned Smuggling Vessel, Guam, 2008

AWOIS

• NOAA Coast Survey

• Automated Wrecks and Obstructions Information System

Resources and Undersea Threats (RUST)NOAA Marine Sanctuaries Program

Historic Wrecks

• 1953: The 468-foot freighter SS Jacob Luckenbach near entrance to Golden Gate, CA. Recent response efforts removed 85,000 gallons of bunker fuel.

• 1941: The 440-foot tanker Montebello off the coast of San Luis Obispo, CA. The Montebello was carrying more than 75,000 barrels of crude oil

Courtesy of the US Navy

US Navy Sub S-5. Cape May NJ. 1920

Tanker “Bow Mariner” Offshore Virginia

Not all targets are vessels

Response to Underwater Legacy Environmental Threats (RULET)

Oil slick from the leak of Navy Special Fuel Oil from Mississinewa in UlithiLagoon. Photograph courtesy of NOAA

Chehalis case history

USS Chehalis: Background

• 311-foot US Navy Patapsco Class Gasoline Tanker

• Commissioned December, 1944

• Exploded and burned on October 7, 1949, while off-loading gasoline at Pago Pago Harbor on Tutuila Island.

• 6 lives lost. Burned for 22 hours

• Scuttled in 160 feet of water on October 8 near fuel terminal

• Aviation and automotive gasoline cargo, diesel bunkers

• 115,000 + gallons

• 18,000 rounds of ammunition

Challenges

• Assessing and prioritizing wrecks• Establishing an effective response organization• Developing and implementing appropriate

technical solutions• Environmental and historic compliance• Funding

Hypothetical Management Decision

Environmental and Historical compliance

FundingTrajectory and fate

Feasibility and costs

Risk and Uncertainty

Prioritizing wrecks for

remediation

Health and Safety

Probability and consequences if a

spill occurs

Conclusions part 1.• Most wrecks are probably

minor threats

• Some may contain large amounts of oil

• We need to conduct a thorough assessment and consideration of the environmental trade-offs.

• NOAA is working with the USCG to prioritize vessels for further investigation

Vessels Still Afloat

• Vessels that are not maintained but are still intact/floating.

• While floating there is an opportunity to easily and cheaply remove them before sinking creates larger problems

F/V Mwaalil Saat

• Survey in 2003

• Sank in 2004 during Typhoon Tingting

• Response costs in excess of $3.5 million

• Other floating derelicts surveyed in 2003 sank in the same storm

• When a vessel is “lost at sea” it isn’t really lost. It continues to pose a variety of threats

• Abandoned and derelict vessels are a problem in all coastal areas

• Few agencies have the funds and time to address the problem

• www.response.restoration.noaa.gov

Doug.Helton@NOAA.gov