News/Highlights

Project Home Page                  * UPDATED February 7, 2012 *

Cook Inlet Vessel Traffic Report Completed

The first product of the Cook Inlet Risk Assessment, a vessel traffic study has been completed and is now available. Characterizing the existing fleet and traffic in the region and the quantities of both bunkers and cargoes, being moved is critical for identifying risk. Cape International Incorporated conducted the 2010 study, which builds on a similar study from 2005-2006. The study utilized Automated Information System (AIS) data along with vessel operator and port records were reviewed and analyzed to quantify the vessel category and type of oil carried. Vessels under 300 gross tons with fuel capacities less than 10,000 gallons were not examined other than to note their potential impact on larger vessels transiting the region.

Findings from the 2010 Cook Inlet Vessel Traffic include:

• 480 ship port calls or transits
• 80% of the ship transits were made by 15 ships
• 5.2 Million barrels of persistent oil and 211,000 barrels of non-persistent oil were moved on 83 tank ships voyages to or from Nikiski and the Drift River terminals
• 36% of all persistent oil moved was fuel oil on dry cargo ships calling at Anchorage
• 102 oil barge transits moved up to 8,750,000 barrels of non-persistent oil

When 2010 data were compared to the 2005-2006 study, it showed only slight changes in the type and amount of vessels. Only nominal increases in Cook Inlet vessel traffic related to population increases and post-recession recovery are projected for the remainder of the decade. Any significant increase in vessel traffic is dependent upon substantial improvements to existing infrastructure for extraction of minerals and coal, and construction of an Alaska gas pipeline.

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* * * CI Vessel Traffic Study Report * * *

see link here to the Report (6.3MB PDF file):

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