Work continues at the scene on the seaward side of Sitkilidak Island as Shell works to complete salvage efforts that will allow them to retrieve their drill rig from it position near Ocean Bay.

Today, the Unified Command announced that they plan to “hook up a main towline to the Kulluk to test the capabilities in preparation for recovery operations of the drilling unit,” according to their Saturday morning release. They say the plan will depend heavily on the weather and the tides. The Command has decided on Kiluida Bay as the destination if and when the ungrounding occurs, that bay is approximately 30 miles from the present location. Kiliuda Bay is only one of several “Potential Places of Refuge” on the southeast side of Kodiak Island.

The Unified Command reports that the vessel is sound and fit to tow. With the Unified Command’s tow plan, no oil or other material is scheduled to be taken from the grounded vessel prior to the ungrounding operation taking place. No dives are planned at this point of the operation to inspect the external portion of the hull, however, divers will probably be utilized later in the operation.

The command also reported that boom will be deployed around the rig as a precautionary measure to protect the salmon streams in the area.

Yesterday, multiple flights took place, bringing teams of salvage experts and science proffessionals to the area. Assessment crews were brought to the rig by a U.S. Coast Guard Jayhawk helicopter and later retrieved by Era Aviation. This is the third such assessment team brought to the Kulluk since its grounding last week.

Era Aviation also transported science professionals to the island. It was their responsibilty to conduct wildlife surveys of the area surrounding the grounded rig. Unified Command has developed a wildlife protection plan to be used in the event that wildlife in the area is impacted during the recovery. They have activated International Bird Rescue to assist in bird rescue programs should their expertise be required. In addition, Protected Species Observers are being deployed on-scene according to their latest release.

Earlier assessments by salvage teams discovered seawater in one of the voids in the hull of the rig, although the command say that this does not compromise the Kulluk’s stability.

Yesterday, members of the Unified Command were able to go to Old Harbor and meet with community leaders there to provide updates on the current situation and to answer questions and address concerns. On Thursday, about 4,000 pounds of bright orange containment boom was delivered to the community by Era.

It is also reported that two C-130 flights have brought response equipment from Anchorage to Kodiak and staged it there.

Currently, the Alaska Native News sees six major vessels in the immediate vicinity of the grounding. On scene are the Perserverance, Nanuq, cutter Alex Haley, the Alert and Aiviq. The Arctic Responder is the last to arrive. Unified Command say that 14 vessels have been mobilized to support the response and recovery. Approximately11 vessels are either en route or on standby at nearby ports and harbors.

Vessels from as far away as Seattle are being mobilized. Most will be in place by this weekend.

“We continue to deploy all necessary resources to support the response and recovery efforts,” said Sean Churchfield, Incident Commander and Shell Alaska Operations Manager. “Our progress is good, but we still have work to do and will continue to keep a sharp focus on the safety of our response teams, and protecting the environment,” he said.

Because Coast Guard assets are strained because of the Bering Sea fisheries taking place that requires forward deployment of resources, the U.S. Army has provided two Chinook CH-47 helicopters from Fort Wainwright. Those choppers are forward deployed to Kodiak and are available if needed.

Weather conditions on scene continue to be favorable for operations. NOAA’s National Weather Service is reporting 25 knot Easterly winds with 10 foot seas. The service is forecasting westerly winds of 25 knots and 10 foot seas overnight. Tommorrow’s weather is forecasting east winds at 25 knots and the same 10 foot seas.

At the press conference held at the Den’aina Center in Anchorage today, it was pointed out that Shell is paying the costs of the operation. Meanwhile, in Europe, Dutch Royal Shell officials admitted that the moving of the oil drilling rig to Seattle for maintenance before the end of the year had to do with saving the company $7 million in taxes that the company would have had to pay if the rig stayed in Alaska past December 31st.

A Shell spokesman said, It’s fair to say that the current tax structure related to vessels of the type influenced the timing of our departure. It would have cost Shell multiple millions to keep the rigs here.” Another spokesman for the oil company also said however, that weather forecasts of a window of fair weather had more to do with the decision to move the vessel than the taxes did.

With the vessel still in Alaskan waters past the end of the year, Dutch Royal Shell will be responsible for the tax as well as the costs of the current salvage operations.

The Unified Commmand has released an animation of the proposed towing path to Kiliuda Bay, it can be seen below.

Related Articles:

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Kulluk Remains Hard Aground on Sitkilidak Island, Unified Command Holds Press Conference

Drill Rig Tow in Gulf of Alaska Ends in Failure, Rig Grounds on Sitkilidak Island

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