Look it's melting
Use the live map above to follow the transit. Apparently the Kulluk has no AIS transponder onboard or intact. But she should be close to the Aiviq. The map updates automatically every two minutes, if not try to zoom or move around a bit or refresh the page (F5)
Here the update from the Unified Command:
-> continue readingFirst of all the drill ship's 18 members crew has already been rescued by Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley on Sunday. Now, the Kulluk with some 150,000 gallons of diesel and 12,000 gallons of lube oil on board sits grounded on a rocky bottom about 500 feet from the shore close to Kodiak Island.
This is just another incident of Shell's never ending series of safety failures since this $4.5 billion operation was started. One might think luckily there was no ice around and the Coast Guard's ...
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"Oil on Greenland would be a disaster," Total CEO Chrisophe de Margerie said. "A leak would do too much damage to the image of the company."
Although he is not completely opposed to Arctic exploitation as gas leaks "were easier to shut down and clean". But what are the chances considering Shell reportedly invested already $4.5 billion and Cairn Energy at least $1 billion?
-> continue reading"Progress related to the final construction of the Arctic Challenger containment barge remains steady," Shell spokesman Curtis Smith told Petroleum News in an Aug. 15 email. "We continue to work closely with the U.S. Coast Guard to outline a schedule for final inspections and an on-water deployment that would lead to certification. There's no set timeline for the completion of this important process."
petroleumnews.com: Shell continues to delay drilling, waiting for containment barge
alaskadispatch.com: Shell's oil spill-containment barge for Arctic operations was once for the birds
-> continue readingarcticready.com is an excellent camouflage communication project. I like the approach to debunk all the absurdities lying around. Meanwhile in reality Shell is still cruising with it's armada south of Bering Strait, venting their drill rig Discoverer did not hit the ground. Isn't it just another absurdity while we are awaiting a new minimum sea ice record the profiteer is locked out because of too much ice in Chukchi Sea?
yeslab.org: Shell considers legal action following launch of fictitious international campaign
alaskadispatch.com: How rapidly is Shell Oil's window of opportunity in the Arctic shrinking?
This is Shell’s vision of drilling in paradise: The ocean is calm, no ice in sight, whales keep distance, the sun is shining, all vessels operate as planned, blow out preventer functions well, contractors are experienced and all damage will be cleansed before winter darkness. The Concerned namely Scott Woodham writing for AlaskaDispatch is not convinced.
BOEM just approved Shells Chuckhi Sea drilling plan, but with strings attached. Most importantly any drilling must stop 38 days before the ice season starts. Based on a 5-year analysis of historic weather patterns, BOEM anticipates November 1 as the earliest anticipated date of ice encroachment.
Just to compare above are the ice conditions as of 2001-11-01. BOEM seems to rule out any possible recovery.
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Extent, Area, Age, Satellite, etc.
Forecasts, Temperature, Pressure, etc.
Circumpolar map produced by the Atlas of Canada
IBCAO
Map of Arctic Ocean Bathymetry v3.0
Bering Sea - 2012-03-19
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