Contact Information
For a lot of people, Valdez is nothing but a touristic place in Alaska. It is a city with plenty of natural attractions. However, when it comes to the authorities in the area, Valdez is more than that. It is located in Alaska, a place that hosts huge amounts of oil and natural gas underground. It is a profitable location for all the oil companies in the United States of America. When so many of them join there to dig, the accidents are just as popular. Some of the most harmful and dangerous accidents imply the oil spills. This is when Marine Safety Unit Valdez becomes a viable option. The unit is owned and operated by the United States Coast Guard. The Coast Guard is the less popular American armed force outside the country, but its local importance is hard to describe. Among the most popular missions, you can count ice patrolling, search and rescue (SAR), environmental actions or design and maintenance of marine lighthouses, buoys or other similar facilities. Not all the units and bases in the country can perform these operations. For instance, no base in the southern part of the United States of America is able to perform ice patrolling missions in the north. This is why Marine Safety Unit Valdez is excellent from this point of view. The base is commanded by Darryl P. Verfaille.
Mission
Aside from the general operations conducted by the United States Coast Guard units, the unit in Valdez mostly concentrates on ice patrolling. Alaska is a great place to observe any unusual changes that might cause damage and become dangerous. These operations were implemented by the US Coast Guard after the disaster from 1913, when the luxurious ship Titanic hit an iceberg that was not supposed to be there and sank. It was one of the most severe accidents in the world. Such operations became mandatory then. As soon as the troops observe anything unusual, they immediately announce the marine experts.
Another very important mission conducted by Marine Safety Unit Valdez is the environmental safety. Since Alaska hosts so many oil companies, the US Coast Guard must always stay alert regarding any potential oil spills or other similar accidents. Aside from the oil, other hazardous substances might harm the marine life and become dangerous for the coastal human communities too.
The rescue operations are less important in this part of the United States of America. Although Marine Safety Unit Valdez does answer any call, the oil spills and the ice patrolling remain the main priorities.
History
Marine Safety Unit Valdez doesn’t have a very long history, but it has some notable operations. One of the missions that brought in a lot of popularity and increased its reputation took place in 1989. Exxon Valdez was a very important tanker at that time. During an unfortunate accident, it lost over 100,000 cubic meters of oil. The crude oil formed a huge spot that could easily be seen from the helicopter. Marine Safety Unit Valdez was the first unit to take action. Ever since that moment, it gained an impressive record around Alaska.
