Coast Guard says Shell reckless in rig grounding off Alaska coast

[unhappycamper]

http://www.adn.com/2014/04/03/3408423/coast-guard-says-shell-reckless.html?sp=/99/171/

Coast Guard says Shell reckless in rig grounding off Alaska coast
By Sean Cockerham
McClatchy Washington Bureau
April 3, 2014

WASHINGTON — A disregard for the risk, possible negligence, inexperience and equipment problems led to the grounding of a Shell drilling rig in a winter storm off the Alaska coast, according to the Coast Guard.

The 2012 grounding was among a series of mistakes and problems that have blocked Shell’s efforts to explore for oil in the Arctic waters off Alaska. The drilling rig Kulluk grounded during a disastrous attempt to tow it more than 1,700 nautical miles across the Gulf of Alaska to a Seattle shipyard for maintenance.

The Coast Guard investigation found that Shell decided to launch the ambitious winter operation in part to avoid paying millions of dollars in property taxes to the state of Alaska. Shell believed it would be liable for the tax if the vessel were still in Alaska waters on Jan.1.

The Coast Guard investigators concluded the most significant cause of the accident was poor assessment and management of the risks involved with launching the winter tow operation in the Alaskan seas, according to a report released Thursday.

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The grounded oil rig off the Alaskan coast: