The following was reported in the Fairbanks Daily Newsminer--business as
usual for oil companies off our most pristine Arctic Coast.  Business as
usual for US government to look the other way. Phyllis
The Coast Guard found 16 violations on the 571-foot Noble Discoverer
after it completed drilling this summer in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska's
northern coast.
The violations included fire hazards and problems with the propulsion
system that didn't allow the ship to operate at a sufficient speed at sea
to safely maneuver in all expected conditions.
Coast Guard Rear Adm. Thomas Ostebo, who oversees Alaska operations,
recommended the investigation be forwarded to the U.S. attorney's office,
said Lt. Veronica Colbath, a Coast Guard spokeswoman.
Messages left after business hours Friday with the Department of Justice
in Washington, D.C., and ship owner Noble Corp. in Sugar Land, Texas,
which leases the ship to Shell, were not immediately returned.
U.S. Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., detailed the violations Friday, as first
reported by the Anchorage Daily News. Markey also sent a letter to Shell
President Marvin Odum asking how the company plans to address problems
and what changes will be instituted going forward.
"The reports that Shell may have been drilling this summer using a drill
ship with serious deficiencies in its safety and pollution control
equipment raise additional and continued questions about whether Shell is
able to drill safely offshore in the Arctic, and raises serious questions
regarding the nature and adequacy of Shell's compliance with applicable
laws and regulations," Markey wrote in the letter to Odum.
Curtis Smith, a Shell spokesman , said in an email to The Associated
Press that many of the issues raised by the Coast Guard have already been
addressed.
"Of course, we take any deficiency very seriously, including those
associated with the main propulsion system that surfaced after the Noble
Discoverer had transited out of the Chukchi Sea. At no time was the Noble
Discoverer found or believed to be a danger to people or the environment
while drilling in the Chukchi Sea in 2012. Had that been the case, we
would have ceased all operations immediately," he said.
Both the Noble Discoverer and the Kulluk will be taken to Asia for
further inspection and repairs. It wasn't immediately clear how this will
affect the company's drilling plans in the Arctic. We have not made any
final decision on 2013 drilling in Alaska. The Kulluk and Noble
Discoverer's return to Alaska will be dictated by the scope of work
identified while in dry dock and the timeline associated with that work,"
Smith said.
The Noble Discoverer completed preliminary drilling in early October at
one well of the Burger-A Prospect 70 miles offshore in the Chukchi Sea.
It experienced a vibration problem in its propulsion system after leaving
the Chukchi Sea, and an inspection in the Aleutian Islands port of Dutch
Harbor was inconclusive. The vibration problem increased, Smith said at
the time, as the vessel continued to Seward, a Prince William Sound port
about 75 miles southeast of Anchorage.
Coast Guard Capt. Paul Mehler, the officer in charge of marine inspection
for western Alaska, assigned inspectors to the Noble Discoverer when it
reached Seward in late November. They found several major issues, which
led the Coast Guard to issue a "port stay control detention" for the
Liberian-flagged vessel.
After summer exploration in the Beaufort Sea, the Kulluk ran aground on
New Year's Eve near Kodiak Island as it was being towed to Seattle for
maintenance and broke free in a storm. It was refloated and taken to a
sheltered harbor. Once weather improves, the Kulluk will be towed to
Dutch Harbor, then prepared for a dry tow transport to Asia.

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