PIONEERING TECHNOLOGY
Pioneering Technology - Building Safety Solutions for the Future
The Alaska Chadux Network itself brings nearly three decades of experience in land- and maritime-based oil spill prevention and response. But what sets us apart is our special relationships with other organizations that are committed to safety on land and sea. Over the years, our research and development arm has developed an incredible suite of safety resources and programs to protect life, property, and Alaska's coastal treasures.
Innovating quality safety measures that protect life, property, and Alaska’s coastal treasures.
At the Alaska Chadux Network, we believe in striving for excellence in safety. We’ve manifested that belief and commitment into an innovative strategy. As a result, we’ve helped develop new technologies that protect life, property, and Alaska’s coastal treasures. Unlike other OSROs in Alaska, we consistently reinvest in research and development, improving safety technology for the benefit of our subscribers and enrollees, and the people of Alaska.
24/7 Vessel Monitoring
ACN’s 24/7 Monitoring Center is staffed by the attentive watchstanders of the Marine Exchange of Alaska. They track each and every vessel transit throughout Alaska’s waters and watch proactively for any issues or incidents those ships may encounter. They also pay close attention to weather forecasts and storm predictions to help route vessels away from potential danger and are the first point of contact for many of our enrollees and subscribers in the event of an incident.
Developing Safer Practices for Tanker Lightering
Lightering is the process of transferring cargo from one vessel to another, while on the water. In Western Alaska, this often takes place to allow tank vessels to enter port facilities that can’t accept large, fully-loaded, ocean-going vessels. With over 160 remove communities home to 75,000+ people in the unique, pristine Arctic region, safe lightering is an absolute requirement. ACN helped facilitate the Western Alaska Tanker Lightering Best Practices Committee in 2019 bringing representatives from the shipping industry, fishing groups, environmental organizations, the Coast Guard, and the people who live in the region together to develop safe standards for tanker lightering. In 2020, the group released a 62-page document outlining practices to reduce risk exposure maximize response resources and capabilities, and establish safe routes to lightering areas.
Vessel Towing Made Safer
In conjunction with Samson Rope Technologies and Glosten Engineering, ACN created the Emergency Vessel Attachment and Towing System, or EVATS™. EVATS™ uses the spec knowledge of ACN’s nearly 30 years of Alaska expertise and combines it with the engineering prowess of Glosten and rope technology of Samson to create a system of safely towing vessels in distress that is compact, easily transportable, and ready-to-use. It’s just one more example of how innovation and technology can be used to overcome the challenges of Alaska’s unique maritime environment.
Dynamic Geofencing to Improve Arctic Safety
ACN received a research and development grant from the University of Alaska Anchorage’s Arctic Domain Awareness Center, and we’ve more than put it to good use. The grant advanced a project to develop enhanced protocols and software for Automatic Identification System, or AIS, Technology. The research resulted in enhanced security, safety, environmental protection, and regulatory compliance in U.S. Arctic waters. But even more than that, AIS allowed us to develop “dynamic geofencing”, in other words, a geofencing system that is base on moving vessels as opposed to just stationary points of reference. Projects like this not only help move Arctic safety forward, but also better project our enrollees and subscribers, and the people of Alaska.