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January 5th, 2013:

Kulluk in an uncontrolled, unplanned, totally screwed-up situation

It could take until spring for crews to remove a grounded oil-drilling ship from rocks near a remote Alaska island, thanks to the fury of the North Pacific winter, a veteran marine salvager said. “Now it’s in an uncontrolled, unplanned, totally screwed-up situation”…

Alaska winter will challenge Shell ship salvage

DAN JOLING | January 5, 2013 03:16 PM EST

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — It could take until spring for crews to remove a grounded oil-drilling ship from rocks near a remote Alaska island, thanks to the fury of the North Pacific winter, a veteran marine salvager said.

The Kulluk, a Royal Dutch Shell PLC barge, ran aground during a fierce year-end storm, and more than 600 people are working on its recovery. But Dan Magone, who has worked on other major groundings in Alaska, said he’d be surprised if they can remove it any time soon.

“I’d really be shocked if this thing is so lightly aground and so lightly damaged that they can just go pull this thing off right away,” said Magone, president of Magone Marine, in a telephone interview from his headquarters in Dutch Harbor. 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.

Royal Dutch Shell Executive Nebahat Albayrak

By John Donovan

In October 2012 we published an article: “Failed socialist politician Nebahat Albayrak appointed as Shell EP Vice President

We note that an extraordinary article by Dutch investigative journalist Ton Biesemaat, about the same Royal Dutch Shell executive, has just been published in Dutch: Meehuilen met de wolven: Shell en de twee gezichten van Nebahat Albayrak 

This is the link to the Google translation into English.

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 ship wreck debacle

By John Donovan

News update on Kulluk ship wreck debacle: Security guards are stationed outside the command post set up in The Best Western Kodiak Inn trying to stem the leaks of information feeding a media firestorm. Does that sound like the actions of a company wishing to be completely open about the crisis which has engulfed its $multi-billion  Arctic drilling misadventure? On the subject of leaks, Shell claims that the flooding below decks on the grounded ship comes from open hatches, not due to cracks or holes in the hull. That’s okay then. Shell shareholders can relax. Shell has admitted that the Kulluks generators are wrecked. The weather forecast for today is strong winds and high seas. In other words, more of the same conditions that led to the order to abandon ship in the first place and drove the ill-fated ancient vessel onto the rocks, and likewise Shell’s reputation (already holed by its past notorious “Touch F*** All” culture on North Sea platforms, putting production and profits before the safety of offshore workers). 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.

8 reasons why Shell can’t be trusted in the Arctic

Shell’s most recent ‘mishap’ a few days ago was not the first setback the oil giant has suffered in its plans to drill for oil in the Arctic. In fact, it’s the eighth in a growing list of reasons why Shell should not be trusted in the Arctic.

1. Shell has no idea how much an oil spill clean-up would cost

In March 2012, in response to questions from the UK’s Parliamentary Environmental Audit Committee, Peter Velez, Shell’s head of emergency response in the Arctic admitted that Shell had not assessed the costs of a clean-up operation in the Arctic, leaving shareholders exposed to potentially huge financial losses.

2. Shell’s barge, the Arctic Challenger, was not deemed safe enough by the US government

In July last year the US authorities announced that a key part of Shell’s oil spill response fleet hadn’t been allowed to sail to the Arctic because it did not meet US Coast Guard safety standards. The ship, Arctic Challenger, is a 36-year-old barge used to drag safety equipment through sea ice. But US authorities are not happy with what they’ve seen on-board and didn’t feel confident the Arctic Challenger could withstand the extremely harsh Arctic environment. Originally Shell agreed that the ship would be able to withstand a 100-year storm, but company engineers are now saying that it is “no longer appropriate” for the barge to meet such onerous standards. 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.

Selection of News Articles about Kulluk Debacle

Selection of News Articles about Kulluk Debacle

Latest Shell Debacle in Alaska Part of a Larger Pattern of Risk and …: Huffington Post (blog)-Shell Oil’s string of failures in its Arctic Ocean drilling attempts continued into the New Year. One of the company’s drill rigs ran aground near …

Grounded Shell Oil Rig Off Alaska Coast Still Has No Flooding Or …: Huffington Post-ANCHORAGE, Jan 3 (Reuters) – A Shell oil drilling rig grounded off an Alaska island since a New Years Eve storm has suffered damage from … 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.