press room

STATEMENT BY THE AMERICAN WATERWAYS OPERATORS REGARDING PROPOSED MASSACHUSETTS STATE LEGISLATION ON BARGE TRANSPORTATION OF OIL IN BUZZARDS BAY

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The American Waterways Operators (AWO) is the trade association for the American tugboat, towboat and barge industry. AWO members play a key role in the transportation of vital energy supplies that keep homes warm and the lights on for New England businesses and consumers. We are committed to carrying out this important mission safely and with the utmost care for the environment.

AWO has a long history of leadership in safety for the industry. For ten years, we have had a formal safety partnership with the Coast Guard, the Coast Guard-AWO Safety Partnership -- the first of its kind -- that addresses the most serious safety issues confronting the industry. AWO is the only transportation trade association that requires its members, as a condition of membership, to comply with a safety management system. The AWO Responsible Carrier Program is an award-winning, Coast Guard-recognized safety and environmental protection program that exceeds the federal regulations on barge transportation. All AWO members must demonstrate independent, third-party audited compliance with this program in order to remain members of the association.

AWO has zero tolerance for spills. We regard even one drop of oil spilled as one too many. We recognize that when it's your land, your beaches, statistics sound hollow. Still, through hard work and commitment, we have achieved a significant 86% reduction in tank barge oil spills since 1990, and are working toward a goal of zero spills. We know that the public demands safe, environmentally friendly transportation of oil, and that's just what barge transportation provides. Tank barge oil spills are the smallest source of oil spilled in marine environments, comprising only 9.3% of all spills. In fact, 99.9998% of all oil transported by tank barges arrives safely - less than one-tenthousandth of one percent is spilled.

AWO has been engaged since the immediate aftermath of the Buzzards Bay oil spill in efforts to learn the lessons of the spill and apply them to enhance the safe transportation of oil through the Bay. AWO was an active participant in the Coast Guard's Ports and Waterways Safety Assessment conducted to learn the lessons of the spill and suggest improvement in spill prevention. We are presently reviewing the Commission's proposed bill unveiled on April 27 and we pledge to work with the Massachusetts state policymakers to craft legislation that will ensure the safest possible transportation of oil through Buzzards Bay.

###