Drilling barge pulled from rocks off Alaska island

January 7, 2013 @ 7:39 pm

Associated Press

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - A large floating drill rig that ran aground a week ago on a remote Alaska island arrived as planned Monday in the shelter of a Kodiak Island bay after being towed about 45 miles through swells as high as 15 feet, officials said.

The Royal Dutch Shell PLC vessel was lifted off rocks late Sunday and towed away from the southeast side of Sitkalidak Island, where it sat exposed to the full-on fury of Gulf of Alaska winter storms since grounding near the beach there on New Year's Eve.

The Kulluk _ a circular barge with a diameter as long as nearly three basketball courts _ was towed for about 12 hours to the protected waters in Kiliuda Bay, where it will undergo further inspection, including an underwater look at its hull.

"We could not be more impressed with the caliber of the response and recovery crews who were safe and meticulous in their effort to move the Kulluk offshore," Shell Alaska spokesman Curtis Smith said by email.

The vessel will remain in the bay 43 miles southwest of the city of Kodiak until inspectors review its condition and the Coast Guard clears it to travel. Shell incident commander Sean Churchfield said there's no timetable for departure.

"Until we have that damage assessment, we'll not be able to develop those plans," Churchfield said at a news conference Monday.

The massive effort to move and salvage the ship involves more than 730 people, according to the Unified Command, which includes the Coast Guard, Shell and contractors involved in the tow and salvage operation. Eleven people are aboard the ship _ a salvage crew of 10 people and one Shell representative

Shell earlier reported superficial damage above the deck and seawater that entered through open hatches. Water has knocked out regular and emergency generators, but portable generators were put on board last week.

The Kulluk is 266 feet in diameter with a derrick in its middle and a funnel-shaped, reinforced steel hull that allows it to operate in ice. Its derrick rises 160 feet. The barge drilled last year in the Beaufort Sea and was headed to Seattle for upgrades and maintenance when it ran into trouble.

Its towing vessel, the 360-foot anchor handler Aiviq, on Dec. 27 lost its line to the Kulluk in heavy seas and hours later lost power to all four of its engines, possibly due to contaminated fuel.

Four reattached lines between the Aiviq or other vessels also broke in stormy weather. The Aiviq on New Year's Eve again broke its line, leaving the Kulluk attached to the tugboat Alert.

Coast Guard Capt. Paul Mehler, the federal on-scene coordinator, said Monday the Alert also experienced a mechanical problem the night the Kulluk went aground. The agency is investigating.

"The understanding the night of the response was that when she was taking maximum power, there was an engine problem," Mehler said. "They did recover that within 30 minutes. The details of that, I couldn't answer yet."

Inspections after the grounding determined that the Kulluk could be towed, and the Aiviq on Sunday reattached a tow line. Tension was added to test the line Sunday night and increased as high tide approached, Churchfield said.

He was not on scene but did not hear of complications.

"The Kulluk came off reasonably easy, would be my assessment," he said.

Mehler said he was in the command center when salvors reported the Kulluk had come off the rocks.

"I won't say that I saw anyone high-fiving," Mehler said. "I'll say there was certainly a sense of relief, but recognizing now we have a lot more work to do."

Likewise, the tow "has gone pretty much according to plan," Churchfield said.

Inspections will involve an underwater look at the hull with divers or remotely operated underwater vehicles or divers or both, he said.

The Kulluk will be tethered to two tugs in the bay and will attempt to set its anchor. If that doesn't work, he said, additional tugs will be used to keep it in place. Four more tugs were on scene Monday.

A tug trailing the drill vessel used infrared equipment to watch for oil sheens and reported no petroleum discharge.


(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
More Local News
Top Stories

  • Nature's Reality Check
    We can conquer terrorism, cure cancer, but a tornado can remind us of our insecurity

  • Back to Work
    Ten observations from practice that only a backup, middle child, left-handed QB can provide

  • Going 'Bulworth'
    When Obama is exasperated with the ways of Washington, he dreams of getting honest
MyNorthwest.com - Purpose of Comments statement
Bonneville Media encourages site users to express their opinions by posting comments. Our goal is to maintain a civil dialogue in which readers feel comfortable. At times, the comments can descend to personal attacks. Please do not engage in such behavior. We encourage your thoughtful comments which: have a positive and constructive tone, are on topic, are respectful toward others and their opinions. Bonneville reserves the right to remove comments which do not conform to these criteria.

Comments (10)


  • Add A Comment

  • murr wrote...
    Is that like giving our leaders to much money ???
    January 2, 2013 4:05 pm
    The dangers of spending more than they should. No, lets be dependent on other countries even a little more. I say drill drill drill.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Quicks wrote...
    Attitudes like yours are what keep us living in the past.
    January 3, 2013 2:55 pm
    Shell has consistently failed to live up to regulations and have asked for leniency on environmental standards. This is beyond their expertise and and poses a far greater risk than reward. Besides you honestly think a new drill site will lower your gas prices??? Wake up little guy! It's not a billion dollar industry because it's filled with individuals with warm hearts.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • shark75 wrote...
    "The grounding in the North Pacific is not a wellhead blowout in the Arctic, and not a drop of oil has been detected in the water..."
    January 2, 2013 7:16 pm
    Then shut the ufkc up and go back to manufacturing bong water you idiots! In a related story, illegal alien marijuana farmers near North Bend ALMOST ignited a raging forest fire that could have charred 3000 square acres of protected forest land and sent 100 tons of soot into the atmosphere. Amnesty International, medical cannabis advocates, and Greenpeace spokesidiots are mum...
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Quicks wrote...
    Oh my!
    January 3, 2013 3:06 pm
    So if someone is dangling yourself over a ledge and they almost drop you it's no big deal? If you were even slightly aware of the blundering mishaps and continuous issues Shell has had while TRYING to meet federal requirements to drill then you might have thought before sounding like a complete fool. People like yourself shouldn't be allowed to comment on anything until you've read more than one article or sentence. Go buy another gun and go away, idiot! Hopefully you'll shot yourself in the foot.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Snout wrote...
    Living in the past?
    January 3, 2013 4:27 pm
    Hmmm, we drive around and like to turn on the lights from time to time today. Of course oil companies aren't charities though they do seem to fund a lot of terrible PBS specials.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • CH wrote...
    just throw the flounder in a hot pan . . . .
    January 5, 2013 9:53 am
    thank you shell oil company for adding the oil.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • murr wrote...
    Re floated
    January 7, 2013 3:22 am
    Still the same. drill drill drill
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Ironhdron wrote...
    DRIL DRILL DRILL
    January 7, 2013 10:35 am
    All of you anti drilling liberals better get of the way. Your Prious will be a speedbump when our country produces all its own fuel. Thats what you want to stop a fuel free country, not dependant on other countries.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Hayduke wrote...
    "not dependant on other countries.?"
    January 7, 2013 11:46 am
    Ironhdron, you DO understand that the oil is sold on the open market, right? There's no guarantee whatsoever that drilling off the Alaska coast will make us any less dependent on other countries than we already are.

    Unless, of course, we mandate that the oil can only be used for domestic consumption. Is that something you'd support? Or would that interfere with the so-called "free market," (which never has existed anyway).

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • HPD 5-0 wrote...
    Wait. It's OFF the rocks?
    January 7, 2013 3:54 pm
    Are the Dims gonna call for an "investigation" of this too?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }