Salvagers tight-lipped on Arctic drill ship recovery
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The united command overseeing the salvage of Royal Dutch Shell PLC drill barge that ran aground on a remote Alaska island will release minimal information on the vessel until an assessment is completed, a spokeswoman said.
Shell's drill vessel Kulluk ran aground New Year's Eve on the southeast side of Sitkalidak Island near Kodiak Island. On Jan. 6, it was pulled off the rocky bottom and towed a day later to protected waters in Kiliuda Bay within Kodiak Island.
The operation is under the direction of unified command structure made up of the Shell, the Coast Guard, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and the Kodiak Island Borough. The unified command has acknowledged that the vessel remains upright, has not leaked fuel and has been examined by divers, but not much else.
"I know you're looking for specific answers but we wanted to let you know that due to the fact that multiple entities are involved in the assessment of data, including Unified Command, Shell, Smit Salvage and Det Norske Veritas, Unified Command will not comment on the assessment until the report is finalized," said spokeswoman Deb Sawyer by email in response to questions about the operation. She did not provide a timetable of when the report would be done.
Smit Salvage is a Holland-based salvage company. Norway-based Det Norske Veritas inspects and evaluates the condition of vessels.
The unified command said 250 people are in the Kodiak area as part of the effort and future plans for the Kulluk will be determined once a report is finished.
But the command structure declined to answer questions on how many divers and remote operated underwater vehicles were involved, what kind of data was collected, what inspectors might be looking for and whether anomalies have been detected.
The command structure also declined to say whether the inspection involves investigation of the vessel from the inside. No more details have been released Kulluk generators that were knocked out or damage from seawater that entered through hatches that should have been sealed.
The Kulluk was built in 1983 for a Canadian company and purchased by Shell in 2005. The 266-foot-diameter vessel drilled last year in the Beaufort Sea off Alaska's north coast. Its funnel-shape, reinforced hull is designed to deflect and break up moving ice, allowing it to drill beyond the short open water season.
The anchor handler Aiviq was towing the Kulluk to Seattle when the vessels ran into trouble in rough Gulf of Alaska water.
A tow line snapped Dec. 27 and a day later all four engines on the Aiviq failed, possibly due to contaminated fuel. The vessel's crew eventually regained power but four subsequent tow lines attached to the Aiviq or other vessels also failed before the grounding.
The unified command has said the Kulluk will not be moved before the end of Kodiak's tanner crab fishing season, which opened Wednesday and usually takes four to six days, said state shellfish management biologist Mark Stichert. Predicted bad weather may delay fishermen catching the quota of 520,000 pounds, he said.
Shell's drill vessel Kulluk ran aground New Year's Eve on the southeast side of Sitkalidak Island near Kodiak Island. On Jan. 6, it was pulled off the rocky bottom and towed a day later to protected waters in Kiliuda Bay within Kodiak Island.
The operation is under the direction of unified command structure made up of the Shell, the Coast Guard, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and the Kodiak Island Borough. The unified command has acknowledged that the vessel remains upright, has not leaked fuel and has been examined by divers, but not much else.
"I know you're looking for specific answers but we wanted to let you know that due to the fact that multiple entities are involved in the assessment of data, including Unified Command, Shell, Smit Salvage and Det Norske Veritas, Unified Command will not comment on the assessment until the report is finalized," said spokeswoman Deb Sawyer by email in response to questions about the operation. She did not provide a timetable of when the report would be done.
Smit Salvage is a Holland-based salvage company. Norway-based Det Norske Veritas inspects and evaluates the condition of vessels.
The unified command said 250 people are in the Kodiak area as part of the effort and future plans for the Kulluk will be determined once a report is finished.
But the command structure declined to answer questions on how many divers and remote operated underwater vehicles were involved, what kind of data was collected, what inspectors might be looking for and whether anomalies have been detected.
The command structure also declined to say whether the inspection involves investigation of the vessel from the inside. No more details have been released Kulluk generators that were knocked out or damage from seawater that entered through hatches that should have been sealed.
The Kulluk was built in 1983 for a Canadian company and purchased by Shell in 2005. The 266-foot-diameter vessel drilled last year in the Beaufort Sea off Alaska's north coast. Its funnel-shape, reinforced hull is designed to deflect and break up moving ice, allowing it to drill beyond the short open water season.
The anchor handler Aiviq was towing the Kulluk to Seattle when the vessels ran into trouble in rough Gulf of Alaska water.
A tow line snapped Dec. 27 and a day later all four engines on the Aiviq failed, possibly due to contaminated fuel. The vessel's crew eventually regained power but four subsequent tow lines attached to the Aiviq or other vessels also failed before the grounding.
The unified command has said the Kulluk will not be moved before the end of Kodiak's tanner crab fishing season, which opened Wednesday and usually takes four to six days, said state shellfish management biologist Mark Stichert. Predicted bad weather may delay fishermen catching the quota of 520,000 pounds, he said.
An article designed to inspire the conspiracy theorist, big oil controls the Unified Command?
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The Unified Command provides written reports almost daily. Many of the questions this article states "declined to answer" are answered by report Update #43: Kulluk stable as damage assessment data review continues.
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"But the command structure declined to answer questions on how many divers and remote operated underwater vehicles were involved, what kind of data was collected, what inspectors might be looking for and whether anomalies have been detected. The command structure also declined to say whether the inspection involves investigation of the vessel from the inside. No more details have been released Kulluk generators that were knocked out or damage from seawater that entered through hatches that should have been sealed."
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United Command Release yesterday.
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http://www.kullukresponse.com/go/doc/5507/1674235/
Why is it that when we are down here, talking about an old ferry, that our Coast Guard has actual authority and calls shots accordingly? Anywhere around this nation I always thought was supposed to be the same. But not when Big Oil is involved. BP and Shell are part of some BBBBBSSSSS 'unified command structure'? Since WHEN did I or any of my ancestors assign ANY COMMAND AUTHORITY to BP or Shell or Exxon or anyone else? Are ANY of those "authorities" under Oath of Service to America other than our chartered Coast Guard? Then they don't carry ANY authority in U.S. waters, correct? Or is it that our Coast Guard checks in each day with Shell and the rest to get their work for the day and to be told where their authority ends on that day?
The U.S. Coast Guard is ACTUALLY part of a unified command structure that includes all of our other services. So are the Navy, Air Force, Army, and Marines, along with all coastal states' National Guardsmen part of this Shell Unified Command, or is Big Oil only giving orders to the U.S. Coast Guard?
 qwertysplurbÂ
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"Anywhere around this nation I always thought was supposed to be the same. But not when Big Oil is involved. BP and Shell are part of some BBBBBSSSSS 'unified command structure'? Since WHEN did I or any of my ancestors assign ANY COMMAND AUTHORITY to BP or Shell or Exxon or anyone else?"
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They didn't. What they did do was create a government to serve men and, that goverment has been turned around and perverted its duties to the people only to provide the role of taking care of (serving) the 6 industries that control our government. This happens with corporate campaign contributions aimed at the coffers of our bought off, bribed up, elected "law makers".
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You've been living in an arguably one of the most fascist countries in the world:Â
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"Fascism should rightly be called Corporatism, as it is the merger of corporate and government power.â --Benito Mussolini
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"Fascism is capitalism in decay.â --Vladimir Lenin
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Our corporations have "captured" regulation and control it themselves (please see Nuclear Regulatory Commission for an example of but one among hundreds).
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Our corporations have also "captured" military control and direct our government everyday on which resources they need from various countries.
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Boeing has gone to a new program of airframe mechanics inspecting for quality control on their own work.
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Your country is in the mess it is in because companies and shareholders create their own regulation and push it through with bribes.
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"We the people" now only means, we the people will bail these failed criminals out no matter what they've done to the people and promise to never interfere with the personal economies of the rich.
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Why is Shell part of a "unified command structure" with the Coast Guard and other authorities? This is like the fox being part of a "unified command structure" in the chicken coop.
 @KOMO_Sapiens "Why is Shell part of a "unified command structure" with the Coast Guard and other authorities?"
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Because in a fascist system corporations control and direct the government.
 @KOMO_Sapiens Its a conspiracy to end 2nd amendment rights...C'mon you should know that
This is news worthy information?