Shell Oil incident commander Susan Childs, second from right, answers a question about the Monday night grounding of the Shell drill ship Kulluk at a press conference at the Mariott Hotel in Anchorage, Alaska. Looking on are Shell Alaska spokesman Curtis Smith, left, Coast Guard Commander Shane Montoya, state coordinator Alan Wien, and Garth Pulkkinen of Noble Corp., the operator of the Kulluk.(Photo: Dan Joling, AP)
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- High seas and strong winds prevented crews
from boarding an oil drilling ship to check for any damage after the
large vessel went aground off an uninhabited island in the Gulf of
Alaska.
A Coast Guard plane and a helicopter flew over the Kulluk
on Tuesday, but severe weather did not permit putting marine experts on
board the drilling rig, which had grounded on a sand and gravel beach in
stormy seas.
Federal on-scene response coordinator Capt. Paul
Mehler said the Royal Dutch Shell drilling rig is carrying about 143,000
gallons of diesel and about 12,000 gallons of lube oil and hydraulic
fluid, and appeared stable.
"There is no sign of a release of any product," Mehler said during a news conference.
A
team of company, Coast Guard and local officials said they were
mobilizing spill response equipment and preparing a plan in the event of
a spill in the Partition Cove and Ocean Bay areas of the island. The
area is home to at least two endangered species, as well as harbor
seals, salmon, and sea lions.
The storm eased Tuesday, with gusts
up to 35 mph and waves up to 30 feet high, and similar conditions were
expected Wednesday. Officials were hoping to get marine experts onboard
to take photos and videos, and then come up with a more complete salvage
plan once weather permits.
The goal was to get salvagers aboard the Kulluk and the ship refloated, Mehler said.
Mehler said a team of about 500 people was working on a plan, "with many more coming."
A
Shell official said the drilling rig was built with a double-sided hull
of reinforced steel that is 3 inches thick. It recently had undergone
$292 million in improvements before being put into service for a short
time this summer in the Beaufort Sea off Alaska's north coast.
It
was being towed to Seattle for maintenance last week when it separated
from a towing vessel south of Kodiak Island. Repeated attempts to
maintain towing lines were unsuccessful as a severe storm passed through
the area. By Monday night, tow boats guided the rig to a place where it
would cause the least environmental damage and cut it loose. It
grounded off the southeast side of uninhabited Sitkalidak Island, which
is near the larger Kodiak Island in the gulf.
U.S. Rep. Ed Markey,
D-Mass., the top Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee, expressed
his concerns in a statement Tuesday.
"Oil companies keep saying
they can conquer the Arctic, but the Arctic keeps disagreeing with the
oil companies," Markey said. "Drilling expansion could prove disastrous
for this sensitive environment."
Sean Churchfield, operations
manager for Shell Alaska, said once the situation is under control, an
investigation will be conducted into the cause. He did not know whether
the findings would be made public.
The Coast Guard said it would be investigating and would make its findings public.
Associated Press