Checking it outROVs inspect Kulluk hull in Kiliuda Bay after successful refloat and tow Alan Bailey Petroleum News
There were cheers off the shore of Sitkalidak Island, on the southeast side of Kodiak Island, at around 10:10 p.m. on Jan. 6 as members of the Kulluk tow incident response team watched the anchor handling vessel, the Aiviq, successfully pull the Kulluk, Shell’s floating drilling platform, off the shallow cobble terrace where the vessel had remained stuck since going aground on Dec. 31.
Multiple overflights of the grounded drilling rig and a series of on-site inspections by a team of salvers over a period of several days had preceded the decision to try to pull the Kulluk from the shore. The teams had determined that, although some seawater had leaked into the vessel through unsecured hatches, the vessel’s hull and fuel tanks were intact, and that the vessel would be stable when floating.
The unified command for the incident, with representatives from Shell, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and Kodiak Island Borough, had also communicated with local communities and had secured access to the shoreline in the vicinity of the grounding. The unified command also communicated with the Prince William Sound and Cook Inlet Regional Citizens Advisory Councils.
At high tide The refloating operation, carried out at high tide, initially involved applying tension to the towline from the Kulluk, Shell’s Sean Churchfield, incident commander for the response, told a press conference called on Jan. 7. As the high tide approached, the salvage crew increased the tension on the line, with the Kulluk apparently coming off its grounded position fairly easily.
The Nanuq, Shell’s oil spill response vessel, used infrared equipment to monitor for any leakage of diesel fuel or other hydrocarbon material. Steve Russell, the state on-scene coordinator, told the press conference that no hydrocarbons had been detected in the water around the drilling vessel.
The Aiviq, with assistance from a tug, the Alert, towed the Kulluk about 45 nautical miles to a safe anchorage in Kiliuda Bay, on the coast of Kodiak Island, arriving in the bay at around 10 a.m. on Jan. 7. The unified command deployed a total of four tugs, all with towing capabilities, to support the operation, Churchfield said.
The Coast Guard cutter Alex Haley escorted the tow. The response team arranged the staging of oil spill response equipment offshore, nearshore and onshore to guard against the possibility of a fuel leak. In addition to the Nanuq, the oil spill response vessel, the Perseverance, based in Cook Inlet, attended the tow.
ROV inspections Two days later remote operated vehicles were inspecting the Kulluk’s hull as part of a detailed assessment of the vessel’s condition, as a precursor to a decision on when, how and where to move the vessel, and on whether any repairs are needed before the move. There does not appear to be any leakage from the vessel, the U.S. Coast Guard has said.
Assessment crews, along with representatives from the Native corporation for Old Harbor, the village near the grounding site, have been surveying the area near the grounding to enable the recovery of survival and rescue boats and other debris from the Kulluk, the Coast Guard says. Apparently four survival boats and one rescue boat were dislodged from the Kulluk and are on the shore. Each of the survival boats has a 48-gallon diesel tank. Two of these tanks are known to have been damaged and one tank could not be accessed, to determine its condition. The assessment crews will determine if any fluids have been released on the shoreline and prepare any necessary mitigation measures, the Coast Guard said.
Coast Guard investigation Meantime, on Jan. 8 Rear Adm. Thomas Ostebo, commander of the U.S. Coast Guard 17th District, ordered a formal marine casualty investigation of the Kulluk grounding. A Coast Guard investigating officer will lead the investigation and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement and the National Transportation Safety Board will participate as technical advisors. On Jan. 3 the Coast Guard had said that it was deploying an investigation team for the Kulluk incident.
The Coast Guard investigates all reportable marine casualties, but only conducts an investigation involving a formal board for what the agency considers to be a major incident.
Lt. William Albright of the Coast Guard told Petroleum News Jan. 9 that a formal investigation of the type that is now under way is conducted whenever there is a major marine incident, where the Coast Guard believes that it can learn how to prevent a similar incident occurring in the future. The idea is to find the causes of the incident, and any contributing factors, and then make any appropriate changes to the Coast Guard regulations, Albright said.
There have been four formal Coast Guard investigations in the past 10 years in Alaska, the last one being triggered by the sinking of the Monarch supply vessel in 2009 at an offshore oil platform in Cook Inlet.
Begich wants review On Jan. 8 Sen. Mark Begich, chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and the Coast Guard, called for a “critical review” of the Kulluk grounding and announced his intention to hold a meeting in Anchorage to take a closer look at the incident.
In a letter to Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Robert Papp and Shell Oil Co. President Marvin Odum Begich emphasized the importance of outer continental shelf oil development.
“Moving ahead with the Arctic drilling program is critical to Alaska’s economic future,” Begich wrote. “While this incident notably involves marine transportation and not oil exploration or drilling, we must quickly answer the many questions surrounding the Kulluk grounding and improve any regulatory or operational standards as needed to ensure this type of maritime accident does not occur again.”
Enviros want a stop Environmental organizations, adamantly opposed to oil exploration on the Arctic outer continental shelf, have cited the Kulluk grounding as evidence that oil drilling in the Arctic offshore poses unacceptable environmental risks.
“The implications of this very troubling incident are clear — Shell and its contractors are no match for Alaska’s weather and sea conditions either during drilling operations or during transit,” said Lois Epstein, Arctic program director for the Wilderness Society and a member of the Department of the Interior’s Ocean Energy Safety Advisory Committee. “Shell’s costly drilling experiment in the Arctic Ocean needs to be stopped by the federal government or by Shell itself, given the unacceptably high risks it poses to both humans and the environment.”
Shell comments Shell’s Odum, in a Jan. 7 statement, said that Shell would participate in the Coast Guard investigation of the Kulluk grounding and that it was too early to determine the impact of the grounding on Shell’s exploration plans.
“We undertake significant planning and preparation in an effort to ensure these types of incidents do not occur. We’re very sorry it did,” Odum said. “Since the grounding, Shell has worked with all parties in the unified command structure to ensure a safe outcome and to protect the maritime environment in the vicinity of the grounded vessel. Thanks to the professionalism, dedication, and skill of all those involved in the recovery effort, I’m pleased to say those objectives have been met with no significant injuries and no environmental impact.”
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