Marine Vessel Traffic. In 1994, domestic and foreign ship traffic into the Port of Valdez consisted of 1,799 trips (Table 5-5). Commercial fishing, ferry and cruise ships, tour, charter, and private vessels Table 5-5. Domestic and foreign inbound traffic into Port Xxxxxx (U.S. ACE, 1994). Inbound Vessel Large Vessels (draft > 5m) Small Vessels (draft < 5m) Traffic Domestic Foreign Domestic Foreign Passenger and Dry Cargo 0 2 1,065 0 Tanker 550 25 80 0 Tow or Tug 3 0 45 0 operate in the Port, as well as tankers and barges. Vessel traffic enhances the probability of operational or cargo spills. The vessel activity can also physically injure or disturb wildlife, such as sea otters and harbor seals (Xxxxxxx, 1995). The underside of marine vessels are generally painted with antifouling paint to prevent the attachment of organisms, such as barnacles and mussels, to the hull. Antifouling paints are commonly copper or lead based and form a small toxic layer which prevents attachment. One very effective and long lasting antifouling agent is tributyltin (TBT); tributyltin has also proved to be very toxic to mollusks, such as clams, oysters, and mussels. Consequently, the use of TBT has been limited in the United States to vessels larger than 25 m since 1988. Vessel traffic from ports in a different geographical region can also transport non-native species into the Port. If these organisms survive, they may become established and affect local species. Vessel traffic from distant ports in high northern latitudes, is more likely to bring non- native species that could survive in Port Xxxxxx. Lifting of the oil embargo act will allow tankers to transport oil to cold-water ports (e.g., northern Japan, and Russia) and return with ballast water from these regions. These stressors are discussed in more detail in Section 8. Illegal dumping of sewage wastes from boats may also occur in the boat harbor and the Port (pers. comm., X. Xxxxxx Xxxx, USCG, 1995).
Marine Vessel Traffic. Past marine vessel traffic has been associated with subsistence hunting, oil exploration, research, and military activities. Weather and ice have traditionally limited marine vessel traffic in the Noticed Activities Area to July through September. The number of marine vessels in both the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas has increased in recent years due to advances in the technology of ice strengthening and ice breaking capacities of marine vessels, changes in ice cover and classifications of ice, increases in use of both the Northeast Passage over Russia and the Northwest Passage through Canada for commercial and tourist voyages, and increased interest in scientific and economic pursuits in the area. Reasonably foreseeable traffic in the region includes small craft involved in the fall whaling hunt at Barrow and Wainwright; USCG vessels; cargo vessels; other supply ships, tugs, and barges; cruise ships; and vessels associated with scientific endeavors. The USCG estimates that from 2008 to 2010 the number of vessels in the Arctic increased from around 100 to more than 130, and the number of transits through the Bering Strait increased from around 245 to more than 325 (USCG, 2011). The estimated number of miles of non-seismic vessel traffic in the Chukchi Sea for July through October increased from approximately 2,000 miles in 2006 to more than 11,500 miles in 2010 (Marine Exchange of Alaska, 2011). Vessel tracks from 2009 indicate vessel transits in the vicinity of Barrow and Wainwright are traditionally concentrated along the coast (Marine Exchange of Alaska, 2011). Marine vessels are the greatest contributors of anthropogenic sound introduced to the Beaufort Sea. Sound levels and frequency characteristics of vessel sound generally are related to vessel size and speed. Larger vessels generally emit more sound than do smaller vessels. Same size class vessels travelling at higher rates of speed generally emit more sound than the same vessels travelling at lesser speeds. Vessels underway with a full load, or vessels pushing or towing loaded non-powered vessels, generate more sound than unladen vessels in a similar size class. The most common sources of marine vessel mechanical components that generate sound waves are propulsion engines, generators, bearings, pumps, and other similar components. Operations and navigation equipment, including fathometers and sonar equipment, are also inclusive of onboard mechanical components that cumulatively create and propagate so...
