VALDEZ, Alaska — Vessel Traffic Service Prince William Sound regained full operations Thursday morning following an electrical short in the Valdez-based Coast Guard electronics building.
At approximately 3:51 p.m. Wednesday the fire alarm in the Electronics Support Detachment Valdez building was triggered indicating a potential fire in the electronics room. The Valdez Fire Department immediately responded to the alarm, cleared the space of any potential danger, and stated the smoke appeared to be due to an electrical short in one of the equipment racks.
“The Coast Guard plans for all types of situations to include loss of Vessel Traffic Service electronics,” stated Lt. Cmdr. Michael Franklin, the Marine Safety Unit Valdez executive officer. “Following an established electronics contingency plan, our VTS watch took quick and decisive actions on Wednesday to ensure no loss in service to the traffic management system.”
Coast Guard VHF-FM radio circuits and Vessel Traffic Service remote sensor systems remained operational following the short; however, the Vessel Traffic Center’s visual tracking display was temporarily disabled. Early morning Thursday technicians successfully restored the display and Vessel Traffic Service Prince William Sound has returned to normal operations.
