Puget Sound Tanker Safety Act of 1989

Puget Sound Tanker Safety Act of 1989 - Requires certain new oil tankers to have a double hull on their sides and bottoms throughout their cargo length.

Directs the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to: (1) enter into discussions with the International Maritime Organization on requiring additional safety standards for tankers operating in environmentally sensitive areas; (2) submit reports to specified committees of the Congress regarding recent oil spills in Puget Sound and safety measures such as double hulls and double bottoms on barges, additional safety lines between towing vessels, and limits on the size of individual tanks within tankers; (3) issue a final rule requiring certain oil tank vessels carrying or transferring oil in Puget Sound to prepare an individualized spill prevention and countermeasure plan; (4) issue a final rule listing the equipment that must be carried by vessels to carry out the plan; and (5) implement regulations providing for annual inspection of vessels covered by provisions of this Act relating to oil tankers in Puget Sound.

Directs the Secretary to issue a final rule requiring owners or operators of certain oil tank vessels carrying or transferring oil in Puget Sound, and owners or operators of oil-producing, refining, or transportation facilities that reasonably could be expected to spill oil into Puget Sound or adjoining shorelines, to submit to the Secretary for approval a contingency plan for the prevention, containment, and cleanup of oil spills. Authorizes the owner or operator of a vessel or facility to rely on his participation in a cooperative effort with other owners or operators who are subject to the same provisions in developing the contingency plans. Sets forth plan approval criteria. Allows the Secretary to enter into a cooperative agreement with the State of Washington to delegate contingency plan approval to that State. Directs the Secretary to publish guidelines for the determination of the maximum probable spill from a vessel or facility.

Directs the Secretary to annually: (1) publish a description of the contingency plans and an inventory of available equipment; and (2) conduct practice drills of the contingency plans and publish a report on the drills.

Provides for in rem liability and for civil and criminal penalties for violating this Act or a regulation prescribed under it.