Accidents happen! In 2003, a pristine Suquamish tribal estuary was damaged due to an un-contained oil spill across the Sound in Edmonds. As a result of this preventable debacle, Washington State’s Department of Ecology (Ecology) enacted requirements for safer vessel oil transfers. That’s great, but they can do better! There is a leaky loophole which still […]
Let’s celebrate some good news from 2022 to warm us up for a new year of Safe Shipper action! We resolve to do our best in 2023 to keep our Salish Sea a safe and healthy home for all. April 2022: Fracked Gas-to-Methanol Company Abandons Refinery Proposal on the Columbia RiverVictory is declared over the […]
Dear Safe Shippers, Let’s end out this year with a gift to our Residents of the Salish Sea! We are needed to take quick action for orcas because a proposed fossil fuel project in Tacoma barely considers them. THE PROJECT • SeaPort Sound Terminal in Tacoma would like to expand, increasing its fossil fuel storage capacity […]
Dear Safe Shippers, We recently lost our superhero, Louisa Nishitani, co-founder and inspiration behind San Juan Islanders for Safe Shipping (aka Safe Shippers). Safe Shippers began in 2012 as a way to coalesce islanders in our fight against the proposed coal export terminal at Cherry Point. There was Louisa, up at dawn, handing out her home-printed leaflets (which she wrote herself) […]
CELEBRATE!Thanks to the legal work of Friends of the San Juans, Phillips 66 has given up on an expansion project at the Ferndale refinery! For more information on this win for the Salish Sea: The sunken Aleutian Isle was finally raised and the remaining diesel onboard was removed! What have we learned from this? When […]
Accidents happen (click here for the latest on the sinking of the Aleutian Isle), and when an oil and/or fuel spill happens, we need to make sure the response is immediate and the impacts are minimized. Right now, Washington State’s Department of Ecology (Ecology) is amending regulations to improve oil transportation safety to reduce threats to Southern Resident […]
Dear Safe Shippers, We have been dreading something like this. Fortunately, the orcas got lucky this time. As did the rescued crew members who were aboard the now sunken fishing vessel, Aleutian Isle. After sinking off the west side of San Juan Island on Saturday, August 13, the vessel now lies 200 feet below the surface […]
We have another opportunity to say NO to the proposed Port of Vancouver Roberts Bank Terminal 2 (RBT2) — less than 1 mile away from Washington State! Let’s do this for the newest orca baby, J59! • If approved, this behemoth container terminal would wreck the hard work we in Washington are doing to protect and recover our […]
Safe Shippers love orcas and everything else about the Salish Sea, so we do what we can to protect the water that surrounds us. IMMEDIATE SAFE SHIPPING ACTION NEEDED! Let our state lawmakers know we support these bills to improve protection for the Salish Sea: HB 1117 Promoting salmon recovery through revisions to the state’s comprehensive […]
Safe Shipping Success! Our collective orca voices helped our neighbors in Whatcom County make a landmark decision that is a victory for all of us in the Salish Sea! On Tuesday, July 27, Whatcom County Council voted to prohibit all new fossil fuel refineries and trans-shipment facilities (more vessel traffic) at Xwe’chi’eXen, Cherry Point. The new land-use […]
San Juan Islanders for Safe Shipping 