at nearly all airports, each airplane has a fairly large space
where it can maneuver in a holding pattern. This is not the case
with large ships in a relatively small harbor, because of
restricted space and lack of maneuverability. There is also a
sociological problem, since much of maritime law is based on
tradition. One aspect of this tradition is that a ship captain is
the sole master of his vessel, and that he alone makes all
decisions.
In spite of
this, some harbor traffic control systems have been put into
operation. The most advanced one in the United States is in San
Francisco Harbor, where traffic controllers have a radar system
that scans the entire harbor. The controllers plot the traffic and
advise mariners of potential difficulties. The Coast Guard has been
given the authority to make control mandatory there for all
vessels, but because of the potential difficulties in carrying this
out and the good cooperation the Coast Guard has enjoyed with all
ships entering and leaving San Francisco Harbor, control has been
left on a voluntary basis.
A somewhat
simpler system is used in Seattle, where position reports are
supplied to the Coast Guard by the vessels and the Coast Guard
plots the positions of the various reporting vessels in the harbor
without the use of radar.
A relatively
simple system was installed in Chedabucto Bay, Nova Scotia,
following the grounding of the ARROW. There, traffic controllers
have both radar and voice communications with nearby ships.
Bridge-to-Bridge Communications
A 1971 law
requires major vessels to have bridge-to-bridge communications in
large harbors. It is well known that collisions can be avoided more
easily if vessels have continuous voice communications with each
other. A specific radio channel is set aside in each harbor area
for voice communications, and all large vessels must be able to
receive and transmit on this channel as well as to receive
emergency information on a special emergency channel. This
requirement applies to all vessels larger than 300 gross tons,
passenger vessels larger than 100 gross tons, and all tugboats
longer than 45 feet.
SPILL
PREVENTION ON OFFSHORE WELLS
Introduction and Role of the U.S.
Department of the Interior
Where
offshore oil production takes place, oil spills are a chronic
problem. This is well summarized in the Chevron spill study (),
which states:
Spills
varying in size from a few gallons to many barrels are endemic to
the Gulf of Mexico...Oil appears on the Gulf waters from...numerous
operations connected with the drilling [and] operations of the
wells. U.S. Coast Guard's reconnaissance flights report
three