The drama that began on Thursday of last week and played out over the weekend and New Years Eve has ended, with the drill rig Kulluk going aground on the seaward side of Sitkilidak Island. The drill rig grounded at the rocky entrance of Ocean Bay along the northeast edge.

The tug, Aiviq lost its towline to the rig shortly before 4:30pm yesterday afternoon about 12 miles from shore in fierce winds. This was the event that the Alaska Native News was reporting on at that time. ANN was able to track the vessel, and saw that the Aivq was free of its tether, but was unaware of the accidental nature of the parting. The Aiviq and Alert no longer show tracking data at Marinetraffic.com.

The grounding occurred at approximately 9 pm, about forty-five minutes after the Unified Command ordered the sole remaining tug, the Alert to intentionally untether from the rig for safety conserns for the men aboard the Alert. Unified Command ascertained that the Alert could not avert the grounding with its single tow.

The Nanuq rushed to the scene from its position northeast of where the drama was playing out, but was unable to assist with re-attachment.

The drill rig is carrying 150,000 gallons of ultra-low fuel oil and over 10,000 gallons lube and hydraulic oil. At this time, the danger of an oils spill is still low as the oil is encased in heavy steel near the center of the rig. It is unsure how much damage the storm will wreak on the grounded vessel before the storm weakens later today and the sea state improves. The rig is designed to withstand ice with its cone-shaped hull, but there is no information on how it will stand up to the rocky shore.

All 18 of the crew was evacuated from the stricken rig on Saturday after two failed attempts to do so.

The Coast Guard will conduct overflights of the grounding scene after first light Tuesday morning. Other operations will commence as soon as the weather conditions in the Gulf improve.

Dutch Royal Shell’s attempts to drill in the the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas have been fraught with failure, and seem to be ending in the same manner. Delays have plagued the company’s oil containment vessel, with a debilitating test that destroyed its containment system. The Coast Guard also cited the Noble Discoverer for safety and violations with its polution equipment. Now, Shell must contend with a grounded vessel in one of the most pristine ocean-side areas on Kodiak Island.

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