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Greenpeace, Shell rigs arrive in Unalaska

July 13th 2:28 pm | Jim Paulin Print this article   Email this article   Create a Shortlink for this article

Greenpeace has come and gone, and Shell Oil's vessels were still arriving in Unalaska this week in what so far has been a low-key affair, despite earlier concerns that the oil company and environmental activists might clash.

The Esperanza, Greenpeace's ship, spent three days in town, anchored off the Front Beach for two days before tying up at the Unalaska Marine Center's Coast Guard Dock, and departing last Thursday.

Greenpeace ocean campaigner Jackie Dragon said the environmental group's next stop was the Pribilof Island communities of St. George and St. Paul where Greenpeace would discuss the group's oceanographic research in deep sea canyons in the area.

The Esperanza was carrying two small submarines, a one-person and a two-person model. Dragon said the submarines will explore the Barrow Canyon in the Arctic Ocean, located where the Beaufort and Chukchi seas meet.

The Esperanza is a 236-foot ice-class vessel built as a Russian firefighting ship in 1984 and acquired by Greenpeace in the 1990s, she said. The trip started last month in Seattle, stopping in Seward, and then Kodiak.

Several Shell vessels have already arrived in Unalaska, including Nordica, Nanuq, and the self-propelled drill rig Noble Discoverer, the rig scaled in New Zealand by actress Lucy Lawless of Xena fame last year in an anti-drilling protest.

The Kulluk, which spent the winter of 2010-2011 in Unalaska, was still on its way earlier this week. The Kulluk is being towed from Seattle, and could arrive as late as July 14, said Shell spokesman Curtis Smith.

Another Shell vessel, the Arctic Challenger, is still in Washington State waiting to be certified by the Coast Guard. The Arctic Challenger is a barge intended to contain oil in the event of an underwater spill outfitted to position itself over a leaking undersea well or pipeline and collect or burn off the released material. Smith said, however, that he expects the barge to be certified and reach Unalaska in plenty of time to move forward with the rest of the rigs. He said, however, that if it isn't certified in time, the drilling plans will wait.

"We're not in a rush," he said, adding that Shell will only move forward with drilling when all the vessels it voluntarily committed to having on hand are present.

The Kulluk and Noble Discover will stay in Unalaska until conditions improve in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas.

"They will stay as long as sea ice continues to cover our prospects in the Arctic. At this point, we're looking at late July or early August for entry into both theaters," Smith said.

Dragon would not say if Greenpeace planned any acts of civil disobedience against Shell, saying the group does not announce its plans in advance. But she said they will "vigorously protest Shell's behavior," adding that Greenpeace represents "the only independent eyes up there" in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas.

Dragon said Shell's offshore oil drilling plans in the Arctic pose the risk of uncontrollable oil spills, and contributes to global warming. Greenpeace plans to gather one million signatures supporting an Arctic sanctuary banning oil drilling and non-sustainable commercial fishing in the northernmost ocean, she said.

The Coast Guard is standing by on security duty and Shell will have its own security personnel in town, said Sgt. Bill Simms of the Unalaska Department of Public Safety. He said the local police aren't directly involved, but are available as a backup force.

Greenpeace's sea lion litigation in past years financially impacted and angered the local fishing industry, but their current focus on oil has generated less animosity. Still, local reaction to their visit was mixed.

Unalaska resident Augie Kochuten visited the ship and said she opposes Shell's plans, and so do some other locals. But she added that the majority support the oil company. Onboard the vessel she visited with a former Unalaska resident, Greenpeace staffer George Pletnikoff, who joined the Esperanza's crew for the trip to his hometown in the Pribilofs.

Jim Paulin can be reached at jpaulin@report alaska.com

 

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