The newly renovated barge that Shell is counting on to help clean up any oil spill in Arctic waters may soon be ready to set sail from a Washington state shipyard.
Shell and Superior Energy have been winnowing down a once-400-item to-do list for the Arctic Challenger barge, based on Coast Guard inspections while it was being built in Everett, Wash.
If it clears Coast Guard inspections and successfully passes an oil spill containment drill for Interior Department regulators, the barge could be ready to begin its journey north in about a week, said Shell Oil Co. spokeswoman Kelly op de Weegh.