Oil drilling rig arrives in Port Angeles; protesters preparing
Apr 17, 2015, 6:36 AM | Updated: 7:54 am
A drill rig that six Greenpeace activists illegally boarded for six days arrives in Port Angeles Friday. (Photo courtesy of Greenpeace)
(Photo courtesy of Greenpeace)
Protesters in kayaks greeted a rig that could be used for oil drilling in the Arctic as it arrived in Port Angeles following a journey across the Pacific.
The Polar Pioneer will remain in Port Angeles for about two weeks before traveling to Seattle, where crews will install equipment on the 400-foot rig.
Related: Environmental protesters board Shell oil rig bound for Seattle
Protesters were preparing for the Seattle arrival of the rig Thursday. Preparations included kayak training, as protesters plan to mass in the waters off Port of Seattle’s Terminal 5 for the demonstration in May.
“We will converge on the Seattle waterfront by land and sea, transforming Terminal 5 and Harbor Island into a festival of resistance that will nonviolently block Shell’s preparations for Arctic drilling,” a statement from sHellno.org says.
Conservationists opposed to offshore drilling say the oil companies have not demonstrated they can clean up a major spill.
Royal Dutch Shell hopes to use the rig for exploratory drilling during the summer open-water season in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska’s northwest coast.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
