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December 29th, 2012:

Shell’s jinxed Arctic drilling farce

By John Donovan

In May 2012 I contacted a senior lawyer at Royal Dutch Shell Plc seeking confirmation that the oil giant had been unable to insure the risks involved in its Arctic drilling plans and for this reason, had self-insured. There was no response. The same month we published an article about Shell’s related plan to use oil spill sniffer dogs. Lets hope they have also been trained to swim.

Shell’s rigs eventually arrived in the Arctic after being beset by construction delays, permit problems and stubborn sea ice. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell Arctic Drill Ship adrift and in danger

By Associated Press — The Associated Press

ANCHORAGE, Alaska Saturday 29 Dec — Rough weather prevented the Coast Guard from evacuating an 18-member crew of a stalled Shell drill ship in the Gulf of Alaska and another vessel is on the way to prevent the ship from drifting into the Trinity Islands.

The Coast Guard says helicopter crews tried Friday night and early Saturday morning to evacuate the crew of the Kulluk (CULL’-uck), which has no propulsion system and is dependent on other vessels to move it around.

Winds of over 60 mph and waves of about 25 feet were too much for an evacuation. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Aiviq: Pride of Shell’s Alaskan drilling fleet?

FROM A RETIRED SHELL OFFSHORE EXPERT

On 29 Dec 2012, at 09:47

John,

Interesting facts about the Aiviq on your web site this morning.

Shell’s Alaska Mishaps Continue in Monster Seas

This link takes you to the technical and description of the  this Tugboat and its facilities which is American design, American built and crewed, cost more than $200 million!

The technical specification is amazing with four diesel engines and two propellers of the latest and most advanced type,  thrusters at both the bow and stern, so much electrical power it could run a small town and redundancy available :- begs the question of why all this advanced specification failed.  It is very doubtful that it was any of the main systems, so what was the cause?  Maybe the root cause was within the complex control systems and all the interlocks built in to prevent mal-operation by the crew.  Me thinks too complex as such a vessel should be manned by fully competent staff who have had the necessary training and experience with such complex control systems and more importantly, knowing what action to take in the event of an emergency situation. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell’s Alaska Mishaps Continue in Monster Seas

Coast Guard cutter hits trouble trying to aid Shell rig off Alaska

The Aiviq and Kulluk as they set sail from Seattle earlier this year for offshore drilling in Alaska (Royal Dutch Shell / December 28, 2012)

By Kim MurphyDecember 28, 2012, 2:59 p.m.

SEATTLE — Adding to a season full of headaches for Shell Alaska’s debut offshore drilling program in the U.S. Arctic, the company’s Kulluk drilling rig was stuck in monster seas off the coast of Alaska on Friday as its tugboat’s engines failed and the Coast Guard cutter that came to assist became entangled in a tow line.

There were no immediate threats to crew or equipment, but Shell Alaska was rushing additional aid vessels to the scene as the Kulluk, which drilled the beginnings of an exploratory oil well in the Beaufort Sea over the summer, sat without ability to move forward in 20-foot seas about 50 miles south of Kodiak. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.