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03/19/2008: "Neah Bay Rescue Tug Funded"

(Tug Gladiator -DOE photo)
The Washington legislature has approved year around funding for the Neah Bay rescue tug through June of 2009, as part of the supplemental operating budget it adopted this week. In the past, the tug was only funded for operation during the stormy winter season.

The contract for the winter storm season lapsed on March 7 ( related story) . The new funds will be available, and the tug is expected to go back into continuous operation, in July.

The tug is stationed at the mouth of the Strait of San Juan de Fuca with the mission of preventing oil spills by assisting disabled ships within the strait and in the outer coastal area. The contract cost of maintaining the tug Gladiator at Neah Bay, including fuel and operating expenses, is $9,000 per day.


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According to the Washington Department of Ecology, oil tankers and cargo ships make more than 10,500 trips through the strait each year. Dry cargo ships carry as much as one million gallons of fuel, oil barges often carry more than 18 million gallons of oil and fuel and tankers can carry up to 36 million gallons of oil.

The tug’s most recent rescue call came on February 27, when it assisted a 651 foot carrier ship which lost propulsion in the Strait. That was just nine days before the tug’s winter contract lapsed.

San Juan Council Member Ranker said that gaining support for the year around operation of the tug is a major victory for the County. “With this and winning approval of the state’s Orca Protection legislation, we’ve been successful with two of our four legislative priorities,” Ranker said.

“With the help of Governor Gregoire and Senator Harriet Spanel, the legislature recognized that we can’t risk the impacts of an oil spill on our environment,” He added.