Today, the operator of Shell’s drilling unit that ran aground south of Kodiak Island in 2012 announced that they will plead guilty to eight felony offenses and has agreed to pay $12.2 million dollars in fines and community service payments. In response, Deputy Director of Campaigns, Leila Deen, issued the following statement:
The Shell conical drilling unit Kulluk sits aground on the southeast shore of Sitkalidak Island about 40 miles southwest of Kodiak City, Alaska, in 40 mph winds and 20-foot seas January 1, 2013. The Kulluk grounded following many efforts by tug and Coast Guard crews to tow the vessel to a safe harbor when it was beset by winter storm weather during a tow from Dutch Harbor, Alaska, to Everett, Wash.
“Shell’s current plan to drill in the Alaskan Arctic in 2015 is put in stark relief by the facts of this case. That Shell could have engaged Noble Drilling, a company now guilty of eight felonies, is the clearest indicator that this company cannot be trusted to drill in such a precious and risky environment. Surely now President Obama has to think twice about approving Shell’s next venture in the Arctic, which the government’s own scientists say has a 75 percent chance of causing a large spill.”
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