Southeast winds of 35 knots and seas of 10 feet, that will go higher this afternoon to 14 feet, will continue to hamper efforts to salvage the drill rig Kulluk today.

Stormy weather, while less than what was battering the rig as it grounded on Monday night, will persist through the night and into tomorrow as another low moves into the Northern Gulf of Alaska.

While still a miserable day on the southeastern shores of the Kodiak archipeligo, the decease in wind and sea state will alleviate much of the concern of a hull breach and possible spill from the rig.

According to Sean Churchfield, Shell’s Alaska operations manager, who said at Tuesday press conference, the rig “is upright, rocking with a slow motion, and is stable” — but he added, “There is still a lot of work to be done to bring this to a safe conclusion.” Churchfield stated that “the cutter Alex Haley was on scene nearby and monitoring the situation.” He also pointed out that the tugs Guardsman and Alert were in shelter nearby.

The Alaska Native News tracked the Guardsman to Kiliuda Bay on Monday evening, and assume the that the Alert is in the same area. He also said that the Aiviq and Nanuq were also standing by in the area. But, marinetraffic.com showed the Nanuq way off-shore of Afognak last night with its destination slated as Seward. That vessel should have reached its destination early this morning. Vessel tracking of the vessels in the area is no longer available. The reason for this is unknown, it could be that the vessels are now out of range of the area of operations or that tracking had been turned off.

Coast Guard Captain Paul Mehler pointed out as well at the news conference that as of that time the hull was sound and intact and there was no signs of any oil in the water surrounding the beached rig. Mehler also relayed that the Kulluk had approximately 143,000 gallons of low-sulfur fuel on board as well as 12,000 gallons of lube and hydraulic oils. Mehler stressed four priorities for the salvage stage now that the Kulluk is aground, those priorities in order of importance being safety, spill prevention and response, assessment, and salvage.

Steven Russell, of Alaska’s Department of Environmental Conservation stated at the press conference that “this response must be considered one of the largest marine response efforts conducted in the winter in Alaska in recent years.” Russell pointed out that the was no indication of current wildlife impact. But also stated that “the Kulluk though still presents a significant threat to Ocean Bay and the surrounding areas.” He said that monitoring would be continued even after the salvage operation is complete and that the state will continue that monitoring as long as necessary. The Kulluk grounded in the Sea Otter habitat area of Ocean Bay and the Stellar Sea Lion area nearby.

An investigation was promised to find the root cause of the situation that took place in the Gulf of Alaska. But, Shell couldn’t confirm if that investigation would be made public by Shell. However, the Coast Guard Representative at the conference pointed out that the Coast Guard has already begun looking into the incident and said that investigators will look into it as best they could and that the information they gather would be made public.

Although aircraft have overflown the area on Tuesday, no personnel were able to board the grounded vessel because of the adverse weather conditions that prevailed yesterday.

The scenario in the Gulf of Alaska began to play out on Thursday when the towline to the rig parted and the tug Aiviq attempted to re-gain control. During the re-attachment attempt, the tug Aiviq was laying in the trough of the waves and took at least one broadside hit from the sea and reeled over to at least 50 degrees. Mariners say that it could be this extreme roll that could have contributed to the loss of engine power to the Aiviq as sea spray likely would have entered the stacks. The Unified Command however claim bad fuel as the reasons for the engine failure.

The towlines parted no less than four times during the drama. The second attempt was a tandem tow initiated by the Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley. The extreme weight of the vessels caused that tow line to part as well, fouling the cutter’s propeller, causing the cutter to return to Kodiak for repairs.

Three attempts were made to evacuate the 18 crewmembers of the drill rig. The third attempt on Saturday was successful.

The final tow line failure occurred on Monday afternoon when the steel cable parted from the Aiviq to the Kulluk, leaving only the tug Alert attached. The Nanuq rushed to the scene from its position to the north of Sitkilidak Island, but was unable to provide asistance. The Alert was unable to make headway in the tow alone and a decision was made to at least maneuver the rig to a position that would lessen any impact to the environment and the rig. The Kulluk remains grounded in about 35 feet of water at the rocky northeast point outside the entrance of Ocean Bay.

More overflights and possible deployment of personnel is scheduled for today weather permitting.

The Alaska Delegation, all of whom were very enthusiastic of Shell’s efforts to drill off-shore in Alaska have been very quiet during the situation. Only Senator Murkowski has said anything on the Gulf of Alaska situation. She said in a brief statement, while praising “the heroism displayed by the U.S. Coast Guard, Shell personnel and other responders.”

“The focus now needs to be on securing the Kulluk and protecting local residents and the environment from potential fuel spills,” Murkowski said.

The salvage efforts will have a window of approximately 10 days as tides increase. After that, tides will begin to diminish and tides will not reach the same levels again until next month.

The Unified Command stated on Wednesday that they are working with the Old Harbor Native Corporation to stage spill response equipment in the area in case it is needed.

The FAA has set up temporary flight restrictions around the area of operations. This action was initiated to ensure the safety of response personnel, local mariners and aviation pilots in the area.

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