Arctic drilling rig Kulluk broke loose, ran aground

Ah yes, some of the most complete protein going.

Good source of calcium too those shells.

You too have a Happy New Year Hoyt!

 

Gee, thanks, Tom!

 

More on the rig here:
http://www.ogj.com/articles/print/v...ce-class-drilling-units-for-beaufort-sea.html

The environmental aspect is symbolic at this point because it's an oil rig. After BP, environmentalists are worried about mistakes.

As a shipwreck, it's not an oil tanker or costa concordia going aground. It does have 143,000 gallons of diesel and 12,000 gallons of lube aboard. And it's not small change:

"The Kulluk, which Shell had retrofitted for Arctic drilling at a cost of $292 million"

Does it also raise the question of whether a backup tug should have been following, or is this going too far?

"The Aiviq is a brand new tow ship, and Shell Alaska operations manager Sean Churchfield said in a briefing Tuesday it was not immediately clear why the "extremely powerful vessel with powerful engines" would fail."

from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/...nd-alaska-helicopter-rescue_62750_600x450.jpg with more pictures there

 

The Coast Guard investigation will certainly reveal the cause of the tugs multiple mechanical failures and the Coast Gaurd cutters inabily to secure a new tow line.


"When the first reports of the towline breakage came in to the Coast Guard, the cutter Alex Haley, on patrol in the Gulf of Alaska after holiday leave, headed toward the Kulluk and Aiviq, Mosley said. The Alex Haley's crew tried to launch its own towline to the disabled ships but the line fell beneath the cutter and tangled on a propeller, Mosley said. Because the cutter was no longer able to assist in a meaningful capacity, it had to return to Kodiak, he said







" The buckle on the original towline and failure of multiple engines on the MV Aiviq towing vessel led to this incident,”

"Contaminated fuel is the likely culprit for the engine failures, Mosley and Smith said. The Aiviq's crew found a fuel tank unaffected by contamination and cleaned fuel injectors on one of the ship's engines, which they were able to restart, Smith said. The one functioning engine and positioning thrusters, powered by electric generators, allowed the Aiviq to avoid "significant" drift, Smith said"


http://gcaptain.com/water-shells-aiviq-video/

 

Arctic will be tough to conquer

One boat went on the beach last summer and now this one. Two boats in a small amount of time.
These companies have alot invested and they did not drill one foot last summer.
They will have a hard time dealing with the adverse conditions of that sea.
The harsh conditions will cause a accident sooner or later.
I hope all there boats go on the rocks and they leave the oil where it lays.

 

Evidently the engines and anchors on the Kulluk were of no help. The only procedure to avoid bad fuel stopping all the engines is "hope for the best"? The bad weather couldn't have been avoided? The capacity needed to tow safely in bad weather couldn't be calculated?

 

The engine failures were on the tow vessel, not on the Kulluk. The Kulluck is incapable of self-propulsion to the best of my knowledge, and I assume the diesel onboard is there for running the drill rig, generators and heating, etc..

 

The Kulluk...

" Kulluk is ice-reinforced; its 3 inches (76 mm) thick reinforced steel double-sided funnel-shape hull with flared sides makes it appropriate for Arctic waters as it deflects moving ice downwards and breaks it into pieces.[13] The vessel is moored with a twelve-point anchor system.[14] Its rated water depth for operations is 400 feet (120 m). Its drilling depth is 20,000 feet (6,100 m).[6]

Originally, Kulluk had no propulsion and had to be towed to location. In 2006, Shell contracted Aker Arctic to evaluate the feasibility of adding a thruster-aided propulsion to the drilling barge. In 2007, Kulluk was fitted with two 62-tonne, 2,000 shaft horsepower (1,500 kW) ThrustMaster hydraulic overboard azimuth thrusters, the largest ever supplied by the company, to provide the platform an ability to move between drillsites and improve its operability in ice.[1] However, before the system had been installed completely, the project was already delayed and subsequently halted due to regulatory and operational changes. In 2011, it was decided to remove the thrusters while Kulluk was on the shipyard and sell them, turning Kulluk into an unpropelled drilling barge again.[15]

 

And And -- The point is ???? Get with it folks this is just another cost to Joe Blow tax payer. Those coast guard choppers and crew don't fly for peanuts. Hopefully i'm wrong and an invoice will be sent out to Shell or the insurance company covering the tow for all of Joes taxes spent to rectify this situation.

 

I couldn't agree with you more VN!

 

Hey...Waite just one minute..

The insatiable demand for oil to power Hummers and heat McMansions lures oil companies into harsh regions. They do it because you, the tax payer, asks them to drill for more good stuff do feed your addiction

. It would be logical if energy policy built the cost of disaster or rescue into a gallon of gas . a TAX !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! but we all know how well that would go down..................

 

More taxation and/or regulation isn't necessarily the answer to every problem....

And the need for energy spreads a lot wider and deeper than McMansions or Hummers. In fact, most energy consumers don't own either of them -- including me. So I'll be damned if I'm going to start feeling guilty because you're equating my usage with lurid examples of conspicuous consumption.

I'm typing this in my motor home with an electric heater at my feet. But my conscience wouldn't hurt me at all if I had the furnace running instead; I have as much right as anyone else to be warm and comfortable.. Does the electric heater or the availability of my propane furnace make me an energy addict? I think not.

Maybe you should take a closer look at the pleasure boats you like to truck around in. Is the energy consumed by their manufacture and operation really less reprehensible than that consumed by a Hummer?

 

There are only two solutions.......pay directly for the costs associated with Oil production at the gas pump...or hide the true cost in small print on the bottom of page 10,467 of the Trillion dollar budget deficit.

Either way ..You Pay.

 

You're right. Either way we pay, so what's your problem? I doubt very many people really believe the energy fairy waves her magic wand and gives us free gasoline or any other source of energy....

 

Id prefer...when I take over as SUPREME LEADER...to avoid budgets , tax, special interest.....

When an incident happened that required cash, I would get on the TV with a .. "MY Fellow Americans" ...The rig TROY 2 has spun out of orbit and crashed into the coast..to pay for this cleanup ,as of tomorrow, 3 bucks will be added onto a gallon of the good stuff...once the mess is cleared, we can go back to business as usual......................THANKYOU for your attention and have a good night..........

Its Logical...Its freedom