Year-round Response Tug now in Neah Bay, WA

Washington state has decided to pay $3.65 million dollars to pay for a tug to standby in Neah Bay, the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca.  Crowley has been contracted to provide the tug.  The Hunter will start, and will be relieved by the Gladiator when it returns from a job up in Alaska.  The primary purpose of the tug is to prevent a major oil spill in the Strait of Juan de Fuca by a ship with a loss of propulsion.  With the rising costs of fuel, it will be interesting to see if this contract will be renewed next year.  I would argue this is a good idea, but probably a cost that the federal government should be bearing, and not the state.  In fact, I believe strongly we should have emergency response tugs in the Coast Guard fleet.  This same issue is being debated and considered in many different areas of the country, including Dutch Harbor, and areas of the inside passage.