Russian ship near Shell drilling

According to a Sept. 7 CNN report a Russian intelligence vessel has been seen near the Noble Discoverer, one of the two drilling vessels in Shell’s Chukchi Sea drilling fleet. Another drilling vessel under contract to Shell, the Transocean Polar Pioneer, is currently drilling the Burger J exploration well in the Chukchi Sea, about 70 miles northwest of the Alaska coastal village of Wainwright.

“We were aware of the (Russian) ship but it did not have any impact on operations,” Shell spokeswoman Megan Baldino told Petroleum News in a Sept. 9 email.

According to the CNN report, a Pentagon spokesman said that the Russian vessel was called the Kurily. Although the U.S. Northern Command and the U.S. Coast Guard were informed of the vessel’s presence, no U.S. defense assets were deployed, the spokesman said. Apparently, since the Russian vessel was sailing legally in international waters, no response was required.

- ALAN BAILEY