Plan to expand WA's tugboat escort requirements for oil tankers stirs pushback

Two Washington agencies are proposing to dial the oil spill prevention rules for tankers and tank barges up a notch in the busy waterways between Skagit, Whatcom and San Juan counties. Even with the survival of the region’s iconic killer whales as a motivating force, the push is not exactly smooth sailing.

In recent weeks, the U.S. Coast Guard took issue with the state’s plans to expand a requirement for small to medium-sized tankers and towed barges to have tug escorts when underway with loads of oil or refined fuels. Simultaneously, multiple environmental groups and tribes are pressing the state to proceed with the rulemaking to further protect endangered orcas and the marine environment.

In a letter addressed to the state Department of Ecology and Board of Pilotage Commissioners, the Coast Guard Northwest District reasoned that an expanded tug escort requirement would increase vessel traffic unnecessarily.

“The overall reduction in oil spill incidents is negligible while significantly increasing vessel traffic in Puget Sound and adjacent waters,” wrote Captain Darwin Jensen, chief of prevention for the Coast Guard district office in Seattle. “More collisions and spills could result due to increased vessel traffic and risks to safety of navigation in congested waterways.”

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2025/08/12/plan-to-expand-was-tug-escort-requirements-for-oil-tankers-stirs-pushback/