NTSB: Shell’s Poor Planning Caused 2012 Grounding of Kulluk Rig

The National Transportation Safety Board has decided that insufficient planning by Shell finally led to the grounding of the the corporate’s Kulluk drilling rig in Alaska in 2012.

The Shell owned ice-class cell offshore drilling unit Kulluk grounded in heavy climate close to Ocean Bay on the japanese coast of Sitkalidak Island off Kodiak on December 31, 2012 after breaking free from a tow.

After finishing drilling operations for Shell within the Beaufort Sea north of Alaska through the summer season of 2012, the Kulluk departed Captain’s Bay close to Unalaska headed for Seattle, Washington underneath tow by the ice-class AHTS Aiviq 10 days previous to the grounding.

On December twenty seventh, with winds as much as 20 knots and swells to 25 toes, the tow gear connecting the Aiviq to the Kulluk failed, setting off a collection of occasions that finally led to the grounding of the rig at 2040 native time on December 31, 2012.

In its Marine Accident Brief into the incident, the NTSB decided that the possible reason behind the grounding was Shell’s insufficient evaluation of the danger for its deliberate tow, leading to implementation of a tow plan inadequate to mitigate that danger.

“No single error or mechanical failure led to this accident. Rather, shortcomings in the design of a plan with an insufficient margin of safety allowed this accident to take place. The plan was created to move the MODU at a time of year with a known likelihood of severe weather conditions for reasons unrelated to operational safety,” the Marine Accident Brief mentioned.

“The series of failures that led to this accident began when Shell failed to fully address the risks associated with a late December tow in Alaskan waters, and ended with the grounding of the Kulluk. Although multiple parties were involved in the review and approval of the tow plan, the final decision to approve and carry out the tow was Shell’s,” the Brief added.

Four crewmembers on the Aiviq sustained minor accidents on account of the accident.

The Kulluk was finally pulled from the seaside at Sitkalidak Island and transported to southeast Asia the place it was scrapped.

This summer season, Shell plans to return to the Alaskan arctic for its first try drill for oil there since summer season 2012.

The full NTSB Marine Accident Brief might be discovered HERE (opens as pdf).