Posts on ‘February 12th, 2015’

The campaign waged on this website to persuade Edward Heerema to rename the worlds biggest ship, The Pieter Schelte – which he named after his late father, Pieter Schelte Heerema, a former Officer in the German Waffen-SS – has been successful. On Friday 6 February 2015, Allseas announced that it was changing the ships name, and on 9 February announced the new name – Pioneering Spirit.

FORBES MAGAZINE ARTICLE: Big Oil’s $3 Billion Homage To A Nazi War Criminal: 20 Dec 2014

JOHN DONOVAN PETITION ON CHANGE.ORG: Out of respect to the victims of Nazi war crimes, please change the name of your gigantic new ship, the Pieter Schelte, named after your father, a former officer in the murderous Waffen SS and diehard member of the Nazi party: 22 December 2014

ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC .com: Lloyd’s Register PR Fanfair Saluting Nazi named mega-ship The Pieter Schelte: 22 Jan 2015

THE JEWISH CHRONICLE: World’s biggest ship named after Nazi: 22 Jan 2015 read more

From an article by Joseph R. Fonseca published Thursday, February 12, 2015 by MarineLink.com under the headline:

Cleanup, Response Operations continue at Shell Wharf

Extracts

At approximately 4 p.m. Tuesday Shell personnel reported a leak from a crude oil line at the Shell Martinez Wharf and confirmed the leak was stopped within 30 minutes. Shell personnel estimated the leak to be approximately two barrels of oil (approximately 84 gallons), and two issues related to the pipeline were repaired. Shell engaged all appropriate agencies for the response, and a Unified Command was established Tuesday evening.

Resources and personnel have been deployed to the affected area as a precaution to guard against any potential impact. Resources include absorbent boom, skimmers and a helicopter for aerial assessments, as needed. Residents may continue to notice extra activity at the wharf and the Carquinez Strait area throughout the evening as cleanup operations are conducted. read more

From an article by Joe Connelly published 11Feb 2015 by Seattlepi.com under the headline:

Port of Seattle quietly signs homeport lease for Shell’s Arctic drilling fleet

Extracts

The Port of Seattle has quietly inked a two-year lease under which Shell Oil will use Terminal 5 on the Seattle waterfront as the base for its efforts to drill in Arctic waters of Alaska’s Chukchi Sea.

With rapid authorization, negotiation and signing of the lease — reminiscent of how decisions on the waterfront used to be greased — the port has secured a $13.17 million deal and forestalled efforts by the region’s environmental groups to stop it.

“This year we are planning on drilling in Alaska,” Simon Henry, chief financial officer at Royal Dutch Shell, told a stockholder briefing two weeks ago. read more

From an article by Andrew Critchlow, Commodities editor, The Telegraph, published 12 Feb 2015 under the headline: 

Shell chief: oil to stay at current lows for rest of year

Oil prices are set to remain at the current six-year lows for the rest of 2015, the boss of the country’s largest oil and gas company will warn tonight.

Ben van Beurden, the chief executive of Royal Dutch Shell, is expected to say that the oil industry should not expect a quick rebound in the price of crude, just the day after another North Sea oil operator reported its first loss in 15 years.

“The market will remain volatile in 2015, if only because for now, Opec (the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) shows no sign of wanting to resume its role as swing supplier”, Mr van Beurden is set to say. read more

Daily Gazette 12 February 2015

Man’s fight to change ship’s Nazi-linked name succeeds

John Donovan, 67, of Colchester, launched an online petition calling for the vessel, the world’s largest crane ship, to be re-named.

The 403,342 gross tonne vessel had been named by the owner The Pieter Schelte after his father.

He was a Dutch officer in the Waffen-SS who eventually became an informant for the Dutch resistance in 1943.

But the name sparked outrage among leaders of Jewish communities and Holocaust memorial groups in Britain and in the Netherlands.

Mr Donovan, a retired contract worker for Shell, said: “Shell was signed up as one of the first customers and these companies knew this ship was going to be named in this way.. read more

From a BBC News article published 11 February 2015

Oil firm Shell has been criticised after an offshore worker was seriously injured when a compressed gas cylinder flew through the air and hit him.

The incident happened on the Brent Delta platform in the North Sea on 10 November.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said Shell did not have a safe system of work, and issued the company with a prohibition notice.

Shell said action had been taken to address the issues raised by the HSE.

RELATED BBC NEWS ARTICLE PUBLISHED 14 June 2006

Shell ‘ignored accident warning’

Oil giant Shell has been accused of operating platforms in the North Sea at dangerously high risk levels.

Former senior manager Bill Campbell, who led a safety review, claimed the company ignored his warning in 1999 that an accident was bound to happen. read more

From an article by Terry Macalister published by The Guardian 12 February 2015

Ben van Beurden urges oil industry to be more assertive, arguing that debate is about balancing moral obligation of energy access for all with fighting climate change

Extract

Ben van Beurden urged fellow industry leaders meeting in London to be “more assertive” in debates over the future of energy. But Shell’s chief executive admitted that the oil sector had its own credibility problem, enhanced by the fact that too many energy industrialists had been slow to acknowledge global warming.

FULL ARTICLE

RELATED REUTERS ARTICLE

Oil sector must take lead in climate debate – Shell CEO

(Reuters) – The oil industry needs to take a leading role in the fight against climate change to introduce “realism and practicality” into the debate, the head of Royal Dutch Shell said on Thursday. read more