New Warnings After Vessel Breaks in 'Doomed' Shell Arctic Drilling Project

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/07/08/new-warnings-after-vessel-breaks-doomed-shell-arctic-drilling-project

Just days before its controversial Arctic drilling expedition is set to begin, Royal Dutch Shell hit yet another speedbump on the way to the Chukchi Sea—its own vessel.

On Friday, workers discovered a 39-inch hole in the hull of an ice management ship meant to safeguard the oil giant's drilling operations in the remote waters off the coast of Alaska. Crew members and the pilot on board the MSV Fennica found the hole after a ballast tank began leaking. The cause is unknown.

The 380-foot Finnish vessel has since returned to a port in Dutch Harbor, Alaska to repair the hole. While it is not clear how long the operation will take, reports indicate that until the Fennica is fixed, the entire drilling project may be delayed.

It's the latest setback for a venture that has been met with years of resistance from climate activists, who say the pristine region is too vulnerable to be exposed to fossil fuel exploration and that Shell has too poor a safety record to be allowed into the area. Moreover, green groups and environmental scientists have long warned that investment in extreme energy projects like Arctic drilling fuels the world's growing climate catastrophe