SEWARD, Alaska—Alaska Maritime Training Center hosted the third annual Marathon Petroleum Dock Team Management event. The Alaska Maritime Training Center at the Alaska Vocational Technical Center (AVTEC) in Seward, Alaska, is a division of the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

Attendees participated in demonstrations and work sessions involving navigation techniques related to safety and environmental operations in and around Marathon Petroleum’s KPL ship terminal in Nikiski, Alaska. This collaboration between the public and private sectors at AVTEC was a portion of Marathon Petroleum’s annual “Ice Week.” Participants were invited to learn about the characteristics of winter dock operations at their Cook Inlet facility.

Two days of ship simulation sessions were performed using AVTEC’s state-of-the-art full-mission ship bridge simulator, demonstrating mitigation of ice flow effects at the Nikiski dock and emergency self-arrest anchoring techniques in Cook Inlet. Attendees from a variety of the maritime industry related to Marathon Petroleum’s operations also had the opportunity to attend lectures, provide feedback, and improve communications among stakeholders.

Capt. Paul Mehler III, USCG (ret.), Marathon Senior Port Captain said about the training, “the opportunity to bring every aspect of the winter operations team; tanker, tug, assist vessels, line handlers and pilots to meet with the sole focus of continual improvement while utilizing the latest technologies offered by AVTEC is one of the most rewarding times of the year for me.”

Along with Marathon Petroleum and AVTEC, participants included the United States Coast Guard, Crowley Petroleum Services, Cook Inlet Spill Prevention & Response, Inc. (CISPRI), Southwest Alaska Pilots Association (SWAPA), Olympic Tug and Barge, Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc., and Synergy Maritime of India. Representatives traveled from all over the United States and India to attend.

AVTEC, located in Seward, Alaska, is the only statewide post-secondary vocational training center operated by the State of Alaska. For more information about the Alaska Maritime Training Center, or any of AVTEC’s programs, visit www.avtec.edu. For more information about Marathon Petroleum, visit www.andeavor.com.

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