The Daily Star, AP, Dan Joling, January 4, 2013
 |
In this image provided by the U.S. Coast Guard the conical drilling unit
Kulluk sits grounded 40 miles southwest of Kodiak City, Thursday,
Jan. 3, 2012. (AP Photo/U.S. Coast Guard, Petty Officer 2nd Class
Zachary Painter) |
ANCHORAGE,
Alaska: Members of Congress are calling for an investigation of Royal Dutch
Shell PLC's Arctic offshore drilling operations as salvagers looked for a way
to retrieve a company drill ship that ran aground off an Alaska island during a
fierce year-end storm.
Environmentalists
for years have said conditions are too harsh and the stakes too high to allow
industrial development in the Arctic, where drilling sites are 1,000 miles
(1,600 kilometers) or more from the closest U.S. Coast Guard base.
The House
Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition on Thursday called on the Interior
Department and the Coast Guard to jointly investigate the New Year's Eve
grounding of the Shell drilling vessel Kulluk on a remote Gulf of Alaska
island, and a previous incident connected to Arctic offshore drilling
operations in 2012.
"The
recent grounding of Shell's Kulluk oil rig amplifies the risks of drilling in
the Arctic," the coalition of Democrats said in a joint statement.
"This is the latest in a series of alarming blunders, including the
near-grounding of another of Shell's Arctic drilling rigs, the 47-year-old
Noble Discoverer, in Dutch Harbor and the failure of its blowout containment
dome, the Arctic Challenger, in lake-like conditions."
The
coalition believes these "serious incidents" warrant thorough
investigation, the statement said.
Shell
Alaska spokesman Curtis Smith said in an email that the company is in full
support of, and is providing resources for, the investigation of the grounding
by the Unified Incident Command, made up of federal, state and company
representatives. Smith said the findings will be available to the public.
Shell
incident commander Sean Churchfield said at an Anchorage news conference later
Thursday that two more salvage crews had boarded the vessel and found damage to
emergency and service generators, and to the Kulluk's upper deck.
The vessel
is upright and stable, and the Coast Guard has said there is no indication of a
fuel leak.
"Findings
include some wave damage to the top sides of the vessel, and a number of
watertight hatches have been breached, causing water damage inside,"
Churchfield said. The team has secured some of the open hatches, he said.
Damage to
the generators means salvagers may have to bring external generators on board
or work without power, Churchfield said. He confirmed salvagers heard
"breathing" from a vent but said they couldn't immediately determine
whether it was a breech or natural venting.
Salvage is
in the assessment stage, Churchfield noted, and options are being developed. He
wouldn't speculate on whether the Kulluk is seaworthy or when it might be
moved.
An
emergency towing system was deposited on deck, and spill response equipment has
been staged.
"I
want to reiterate there is no limitation on resources, personnel or equipment
being deployed as part of the response and recovery activities,"
Churchfield said.
Coast Guard
Capt. Paul Mehler said the top concern remains the safety of responders working
in what continues to be hazardous flying and marine conditions.
The Kulluk
is a non-propelled, 266-foot (81-meter) diameter barge with a reinforced
funnel-shaped hull designed to operate in ice. It is carrying more than 140,000
gallons (530,000 liters) of diesel and about 12,000 gallons (45,400 liters) of
lube oil and hydraulic fluid. Centered on the vessel is a 160-foot (50 foot)
derrick. It drilled during the short open-water season in the Beaufort Sea.
A 360-foot
(110-meter) anchor handler, the Aiviq, was towing the Kulluk from Dutch Harbor
to Seattle last week for maintenance and upgrades when the tow line snapped
south of Kodiak. Lines were reattached at least four times but could not be
maintained. A lone tugboat still attached Monday night in a vicious storm
couldn't control the vessel and cut it loose as it neared land.
After the
grounding, critics quickly asserted it has foreshadowed what will happen north
of the Bering Strait if drilling is allowed.
Two
national organizations kept up the drumbeat Thursday by calling for a halt to
all permitting for Arctic offshore drilling in the wake of the grounding.
"This
string of mishaps by Shell makes it crystal clear that we are not ready to
drill in the Arctic," said Chuck Clusen of the Natural Resources Defense
Council. "Shell is not Arctic-ready. We have lost all faith in Shell, and
they certainly don't have any credibility left."
Lois
Epstein, a civil engineer who works for The Wilderness Society in Anchorage,
said Shell has made troubling, non-precautionary decisions that put workers and
the Coast Guard at risk.
"These
ongoing technical and decision-making problems and their enormous associated
costs and risks taken by our military personnel once there were problems should
lead the federal government to reassess its previous permitting decisions
regarding Shell," Epstein said.
In the
short term, she said, damage to the Kulluk may prevent it from being ready for
the 2013 open water season. Besides drilling in the Beaufort, the barge was
supposed to be on hand for drilling a relief well if Shell's drill vessel in
the Chukchi Sea, the Noble Discoverer, experienced a wellhead blowout and was
damaged, Epstein said.
Shell has
maintained it has taken a heads-up approach to anticipating and reacting to problems.
Shell
Alaska spokesman Smith said Wednesday the Kulluk had been towed more than 4,000
miles (6,440 kilometers) and had previously experienced similar storm
conditions. Shell staged additional towing vessels along the route in case
there were problems, he said.
"We
know how to work in regions like this," Smith said. "Having said
that, when flawless execution does not happen, you learn from it, and we
will."
