Deepwater Ports Approach/Exit Hazard and Risk Assessment

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Deepwater Ports Approach/Exit Hazard and Risk Assessment

W. E. Faragher / J. T. Pizzo / L. R. Reinburg / A. D. Reiter / W. C. Graham

Two deepwater ports are planned for crude oil importation in the Gulf of Mexico: the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) and the Texas Offshore Oil Terminal, which replaces the planned SEADOCK terminal. This report presents the results of an evaluation of the potential hazards to navigation and an assessment of the risk of oil spills from deepwater port tanker transits in the Gulf. The route from the Straits of Florida and Yucatan Channel to the ports was divided into five transit zones, and the primary hazards were identified and ranked by transit zone. Vessel accident causal data from the Coast Guard's Vessel Casualty Reporting System were used for the ranking in conjunction with a subjective analysis based on personal observations of deepwater port operations and tanker operations in the Gulf of Mexico, analysis of Gulf weather data and vessel traffic, and 'paper transits' of the deepwater port tanker routes. The oil spill risk assessment estimated the expected number of oil spills, the probability distribution of amount spilled, and the probability of at least one spill exceeding a given amount. These risk measures were evaluated by transit zone and casualty type (impact and nonimpact) over a 30 year operating period for the two ports. The oil spill data utilized were obtained from the Coast Guard's Tanker Casualty Data. (Author)