Approval Allows Resolve Marine Group and NRC to Offer 1-Call Alaska
RESOLVE Marine Group, together with National Response Corporation (NRC), has received final approval from the U.S. Coast Guard for its Western Alaska Alternative Planning Criteria (APC) focused on the northern Pacific Great Circle route for nontank vessels transiting through the Aleutian Islands in Western Alaska. In addition, NRC has full approvals from the USCG for its Oil Spill Response Organization (OSRO) Classification rating to all USCG operating environments – this includes Offshore, Near Shore, Ocean, Inland, and River/Canal operating areas.
With this final approval from the USCG, RESOLVE Marine Group and NRC can immediately provide nontank vessel clients with 1-Call Alaska coverage for vessels transiting the Aleutian Islands Subarea of Western Alaska in compliance with OPA-90 regulations. RESOLVE Marine Group and NRC fully expect to expand APC coverage to tanker vessels transiting through the Aleutian Islands Subarea and are currently awaiting final approval from the USCG for this purpose.
RESOLVE and NRC have positioned response resources in the region including the RESOLVE PIONEER/MAKUSHIN BAY (response tugs), RESOLVE IBIS (response barge), and firefighting, salvage, and spill response equipment to support the 1-Call Alaska service.
In addition to positioning resources in the region, RESOLVE and NRC have developed 1-Call Alaska APC Operating Procedures to mitigate the risk of maritime incidents. The Operating Procedures closely mirror the Aleutian Island Risk Assessment Advisory Panel’s recommendations to the USCG, State of Alaska, and IMO for vessel navigation guidelines and should be widely accepted. An important component of the 1-Call Alaska APC beyond prepositioned response equipment is the maritime domain awareness system, which uses the Automatic Identification System (AIS) to track all 1-Call Alaska vessels.
The 1-Call Alaska program offers clients with 24/7 access to response resources for immediate deployment in the event of an incident as well as compliance with both the OSRO and SMFF regulations in this Western Alaska region.
1-Call Alaska Coverage Program:
1. The 1-Call Alaska Addendum amends existing OPA-90 contracts with RESOLVE and NRC to add coverage for nontank vessel traffic transiting the “Great Circle” trading route in Western Alaska waters.
2. There is no fee to enroll for 1-Call Alaska coverage if the NTV vessel(s) do not transit the Western Alaska Great Circle Route coverage area.
3. The one-time annual 1-Call Alaska vessel fee is only applicable when a NTV vessel requires Western Alaska Great Circle Route coverage. At that time, an invoice will be issued and provided.
4. The 1-Call Alaska Addendum will enroll the entire NTV fleet for coverage. A one-time annual 1-Call Alaska vessel fee is only applicable when a vessel transits the 1-Call Alaska coverage area to or from a U.S. port.
5. 1-Call Alaska coverage is not required for vessels innocent passage.
6. Vessels enrolled with any other USCG-approved APC prior to May 14, 2015 will be covered under the 1-Call Alaska program but not charged up to their existing coverage expiration date.
7. An invoice will only be issued when a vessel requires 1-Call Alaska coverage. As such, it is beneficial to activate coverage and enroll their fleet for 1-Call Alaska coverage immediately.
8. The Addendum and the 1-Call Alaska APC Operational Guidelines were vetted by the USCG as part of the formal review leading to approval of the APC.The International Group of P&I Clubs have found the 1-Call Alaska Addendum to be in conformance with IG guidelines for OSRO contracts.
1-Call Alaska Coverage Enrollment:
1. If you would like to enroll your fleet for 1-Call Alaska coverage, please provide us with a signed 1-Call Alaska Addendum via emailing 1CallAlaska@nrcc.com. You may download the addendum at www.1CallAlaska.com.2. All of your vessels enrolled for 1-Call Alaska coverage and can be viewed on our 1-Call Alaska website at www.1CallAlaska.com, which is used by the Qualified Individuals, Marine Exchange, Vessel Agents and U.S. Coast Guard to verify vessels enrolled for 1-Call Alaska coverage.3. If your company is not currently a RESOLVE Marine Group or NRC client for U.S. OPA-90 OSRO and Dispersant compliance services, 1-Call Alaska coverage can still be arranged. Simply log on to our website and sign our one page 1-Call Alaska coverage short form contract along with the 1-Call Alaska Addendum.
For more information, please contact Todd Duke at RESOLVE Marine Group at +1-907-243-0069 or tduke@resolvemarine.com.
You may also visit us at www.1CallAlaska.com.