Shell drilling rig has grounded off Kodiak Island

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http://www.adn.com/2012/12/31/2739314/shell-drilling-rig-is-adrift-again.html

Update, 11:05 p.m.:

The Shell drill rig Kulluk grounded off Kodiak Island at about 9 p.m., according to the Coast Guard.

The vessel, which again broke loose earlier Monday, is in a rocky area on the southeast side of Sitkalidak Island on the northern end of Ocean Bay, officials said at a news briefing late Monday.

No one was aboard the vessel when it grounded, officials said.

The condition of the vessel wasn't immediately clear, officials said. There have been no reports of fuel spills. The vessel was carrying about 155,000 gallons of diesel fuel, officials said.

Earler story:

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Read more here: http://www.adn.com/2012/12/31/2739314/shell-drilling-rig-is-adrift-again.html#storylink=cpy

[Berlum]

1. The Wreck of the Kulluk

what the rig looks like

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2. ...

Environmental groups which have been battling the opening of U.S. Arctic waters to offshore oil drilling quickly warned that the crippled drill rig is an example of the problems that can occur in the harsh weather conditions of the Far North.

“Shell’s Arctic drilling season has been plagued with problems, missteps, and near disasters. We are fortunate that this latest incident happened close to the Coast Guard station in Kodiak. Response equipment was nearby,” the conservation group Oceana said in a statement. “If this had happened in the Arctic Ocean, Shell could have been on its own, 1,000 miles from the help it needed. The rough conditions that prevented a rescue today could be compounded by darkness and ice in the Arctic.”

Lois N. Epstein, Arctic program director for the Wilderness Society, said the incident suggests Shell’s equpment is “no match” for the Alaskan winter seas.

“Shell’s costly drilling experiment in the Arctic Ocean needs to be stopped by the federal government or by Shell itself given the unacceptably high risks it poses to both humans and the environment,” she said in a statement.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-shell-kulluk-grounded-20130101,0,7770041.story

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3. Kick - with updates

http://www.adn.com/2012/12/31/2739314/shell-drilling-rig-is-adrift-again.html

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Meanwhile, as a result of the grounding, environmentalists are calling for a review or even a halt of Shell's controversial drilling program offshore in the Alaska Arctic.

Rick Steiner, a former professor with the University of Alaska who is now an environmental consultant through Oasis Earth, has been raising questions for weeks about the lack of emergency towing resources along Shell's route, including corresponding directly with the Coast Guard on the matter.

"There is a lot to learn about this cascade of failures that put the Kulluk on the rocks," Steiner said in an e-mail early Tuesday. It appears "the rig was not adequately equipped for heavy weather towing, they should have called the Alert sooner, and tried to shelter sooner. Clearly Shell should have thought through contingencies for a loss of tow in heavy weather, and they didn't. The weather encountered is not extreme and unexpected in the Gulf of Alaska in the winter - it's just winter. This doesn't inspire confidence in their safety and contingency planning capability."

Michael LeVine, the Juneau-based senior counsel for Oceana, said it's lucky the grounding happened near the Coast Guard station in Kodiak.

"If this had happened in the Arctic Ocean, Shell could have been on its own, 1,000 miles from the help it needed," LeVine said in an e-mail. "Shell has not been able to conduct any phase of its operations without substantial problems. From construction of its response barge to complying with air and water protections to transit, Shell’s season has been plagued with problems, missteps, and near disasters."

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Read more here: http://www.adn.com/2012/12/31/2739314/shell-drilling-rig-is-adrift-again.html#storylink=cpy

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4. Here's another photo

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5. Freaking wow!

Let's hope there is no leak