OLYMPIA — An emergency response tugboat will stay at Neah Bay for a full year of standing sentinel at mouth of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
The state Department of Ecology announced Monday an agreement with Gladiator owner Crowley Maritime Corp. of Florida on a $3.65 million contract for 24-hour-a-day stationing from this July 1 through June 30, 2009.
State lawmakers in their recently concluded legislative session provided one year of year-round funding for the contract that was announced Monday.
Crowley’s 2007-2008 agreement with Ecology expired March 7, concluding a 159-day stay that included five emergency responses but covered only the only the harshest months of fall and winter weather.
Emergency response tugs are seen as a key to preventing oil spills by guiding disabled vessels to safety.
As such, oil spill advocates said permanent funding is the goal but that funding year-round service for the first time is a positive development.
Fred Felleman, the Northwest consultant for Friends of the Earth, called the contract “a very good thing” but added Monday: “I don’t believe this a sustainable solution, nor did the Legislature envision it as such.”
