On February 20 and 21, 2014 Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) Director Brian Salerno and BSEE Alaska Region Director Mark Fesmire traveled to Bellingham, Wash. to meet with senior leaders from the U.S. Coast Guard and the American Bureau of Shipping and see first-hand Shell's containment system aboard the Arctic Challenger.
Director Salerno and Alaska Region Director Fesmire also visited with Coast Guard representatives at the Coast Guard's District headquarters in Seattle. The group discussed operations in the Arctic, the certification of vessels and significant issues affecting offshore operations in Alaska. This coordination meeting with Coast Guard representatives from Alaska and Washington follows on a coordination meeting held with Coast Guard leaders in Washington, D.C.
Prior to leaving Washington, Director Salerno met with Carl Weimer, Director of the Pipeline Safety Trust, a nonprofit pipeline safety charity. The two discussed the safe transport of energy. Director Salerno will be participating in the Technical Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Standards Committee meeting in Washington, D.C. on February 25 and 26, 2014 in Washington, D.C. More information on that meeting can be found on the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration's website.