Totem Ocean Trailer Express, Inc.
2511 Tidewater Road
Anchorage, AK 99501

National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration: National Marine Fisheries Service Docket # 090224232-91321-03
Endangered and Threatened Species: Designation of Critical Habitat for Cook Inlet Beluga Whale
Anchorage, Alaska
February 12, 2010

George Lowery, Alaska Director

Good evening, My name is George Lowery and I am the Alaska Director for Totem Ocean Trailer Express. TOTE operates two Roll on/Roll off cargo ships providing twice-weekly service between the Port of Tacoma and the Port of Anchorage. TOTE is a major carrier calling on the Port of Anchorage, which is known to receive 90 percent of all the goods coming into Alaska and would be negatively affected by a critical habitat designation. TOTE has provided transportation service to Alaska, using this trade lane since 1975. During this time, we can safely state that TOTE has not experienced a whale strike or any other incident related to beluga whales in Cook Inlet.

The proposed critical habitat area encompasses more than 3,000 square miles of Cook Inlet, including the Inlet’s entire upper half and areas where beluga whales and industry activities have co-existed for decades. Scientists in the National Marine Fisheries Service have concluded that the sole reason for the population decline was the unsustainable subsistence harvest in the 1990s. There is no evidence that any other human activity has harmed the beluga whale’s environment, migration, or ecology.

If NMFS’s proposed rule passes, any activity in the area would require additional permitting and mitigation measures that would increase construction and operation costs – WITHOUT any direct benefit to the whale. The rule would affect not only oil and gas-related activities, but other important projects such as the Port of Anchorage expansion, Anchorage wastewater discharges, military operations and more.

What are the potential negative impacts to vessel traffic due to the critical habitat designation?

1. Critical habitat designations could increase costs by requiring additional observers on board. We already have a minimum bridge crew of three when our vessel is transiting Cook Inlet, and they are on constant surveillance for other vessels, navigational hazards, and whales. If whale observers were required in addition to regular crew, it would likely cost $150,000 per vessel per year.
2. Critical habitat designations could increase costs and create safety risks by any required speed reduction. Cook Inlet is a challenging maritime environment. Currents flow as fast as 8 knots with a tidal variation of as much as 35 feet. Any mandated speed restriction could reduce navigational control to a dangerous level in respect to tidal flows, ice conditions, and winds. Large vessels arrive and depart only when there is adequate water depth to cross the Knik Arm Shoal. A very narrow window of opportunity exists for large cargo vessels to navigate Upper Cook Inlet, cross the Knik Arm Shoal, and dock at the Port of Anchorage. Any limitations on speed, restrictions to hours of operation, or other actions threatening operation within this limited navigational time frame in Cook Inlet would result in an additional fuel burn in order to maintain schedule, if it is even possible to maintain schedule at all.
3. Critical habitat designations could increase costs by limiting vessels to daylight hours of operations. If such a mandate were imposed, the short winter daylight window may not coincide with the shoal openings at all. It is unknown how this could be dealt with. One option would be to move the terminal out of Cook Inlet and Anchorage to a different location, free of these restrictions. Another option would be to add a third vessel to the route to allow for lag time in the schedule for the vessel to linger and wait for the shoal to open during daylight hours. The capital cost alone for a third vessel would be in the neighborhood of $240 million and another $25 million for annual operating costs.
4. It has been stated that consultation is not required for vessels, but would for operational features such as dredging. Dredging is required every year for continued operation, especially at this point during Port expansion. If spring time dredging is delayed due to any reason, our ship could run the risk of going aground at low tides or being unable to dock at the Port of Anchorage.
5. It has been stated that “Critical Habitat is likely to include concern for in-water noise from port operations. We are not sure of the Federal connection between authorization of the Port and activities on board a vessel calling at the Port.” This statement leaves the door open for unknown operation and financial risks to our vessel operation.

It is my opinion that any of these conditions would result in unacceptable cost increases that would ultimately be passed on to the Alaskan consumer.

Decades of safe and environmentally responsible oil and gas production, vessel transportation, community development, commercial, sport, and subsistence fishing, and other economic activity in Cook Inlet have taken place without harming Cook Inlet beluga whales. I recommend a critical habitat exclusion of the entire Port of Anchorage as well as the vessel transit corridors in and out of Cook Inlet.

Thank you.