Coast Guard hearing to look into Shell oil rig mishap

The Coast Guard in Anchorage Alaska is looking into how a drill barge ended up aground just off an Alaskan island. The Royal Dutch Shell PLC drill barge that is used for Arctic Ocean exploratory drilling managed to break from its towing vessel and ran aground off Sitkalidak Island.

The oil rig Kulluk was being towed from the Aleutian Islands' Dutch Harbour by the Aiviq to a shipyard in Seattle when it encountered a storm in the Gulf of Alaska. All four of the towing vessel's engines failed during the storm and it lost its tow. As a result the Coast Guard had to air-rescue the 18 crew members of the Kulluk.

The Aiviq managed to re-start its engines and re-establish its tow following the storm, but then lost it several more times over the course of the following days. The oil rig ended up grounding on New Year's Eve before being floated to Unalaska and then transported by ship to Singapore.

A Coast Guard formal marine casualty investigation hearing is scheduled and will be looking into Shell's activity in Alaskan waters last year and the grounding of the oil rig. Another investigation into safety violations on the Noble Discoverer has also been taking place and has now been referred to the US Attorney's office.

Investigations by the Coast Guard follow marine casualties in an effort to understand how they occurred and to identify any contributing factors. If any factors are determined it is possible for them to be addressed and as a result could potentially protect the environment and save lives.

The Kulluk oil rig was purchased by Shell in 2005. It was originally built for a Canadian company in 1983. The damage caused to the vessel during this incident is the reason that Shell decided not to drill in the Arctic Waters this year.