State reviews Vitus Marine plan to move 365,000 barrels across Alaska waters

The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation is accepting public comments through June 12 on a renewal application from Vitus Marine LLC to transport up to 365,000 barrels of petroleum products through Cook Inlet, Bristol Bay, and remote Western Alaska waters.

The Anchorage-based company operates chartered tank barges that conduct ship-to-shore, ship-to-barge, and ship-to-ship transfers of gasoline, jet fuel, and diesel across five Alaska regions. The plan commits response resources to handle spills of up to 54,750 barrels, about 15 percent of the maximum volume the operations could discharge.

Vitus Marine has operated under State Contingency Plan Number 26-CP-5188 since at least 2016, when the company proposed increasing its chartered tanker cargo volumes from 90,000 barrels to the current 365,000-barrel capacity. The state issued subsequent public notices for the same contingency plan in 2018 and 2021, making this the latest in a series of recurring regulatory reviews for the operation.

Residents in affected areas or governing bodies of affected municipalities can request a public hearing by writing to the department before May 28 if they can demonstrate good cause. The department will consider all comments but will not respond to individual submissions.

Comments can be submitted online at dec.alaska.gov/comment or in writing to Howard Minor, Plan Reviewer, Department of Environmental Conservation, 555 Cordova Street, Anchorage, AK 99501. The full application is available at dec.alaska.gov/Applications/SPAR/PublicMVC/IPP/CPlansUnderReview.

For accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act, contact Kristin Mabry at [email protected] or 907-334-0884 before June 9.