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Shell’s Damaged Icebreaker Headed for U.S. West Coast for Repairs
An icebreaker that was scheduled to move to the Chukchi Sea in assist of Shell’s arctic drilling marketing campaign will as a substitute head again to U.S. West Coast for repairs to its broken hull.
A spokesman for Shell confirmed Monday that the Finnish multipurpose icebreaker MSV Fennica will return to a shipyard in Portland, Oregon to restore a gash suffered within the hull of the vessel throughout its keep in Alaska.
The Fennica was departing Dutch Harbor, AK for the Chukchi Sea on July third when crew members and a licensed harbor pilot found a leak within the vessel’s ballast tank, forcing the ship again to Dutch. An inspection revealed a 39-inch lengthy by practically 1-inch vast gash beneath the waterline.
The MSV Finnica, which is owned and operated by Finland’s Arctia Shipping, is one in all two icebreakers and 29 vessels that may head to the Chukchi Sea this summer time in assist of Shell’s deliberate arctic drilling operations. The vessel will probably be used primarily for ice reconnaissance and administration, however it additionally carries the properly capping stack, a key piece of containment tools that’s thought of the final line of protection within the case of a serious blowout whereas drilling.
The Shell spokesman mentioned that the repairs mustn’t interrupt the corporate’s 2015 drilling schedule because the Fennica won’t be want till August after top-hole drilling is carried out, the Associated Press experiences.
A press release launched by Arctia Shipping mentioned that MSV Fennica will transit to Portland for repairs earlier than returning to Alaskan waters for its operational duties. “The vessel is required on the operational area only late in the August so the drydocking in Portland has been chosen for repairs,” the assertion mentioned.
gCaptain has confirmed that the vessel will head to the Vigor Industrial facility in Portland. Repairs are anticipated to take simply 36 to 48 hours, gCaptain is advised.
The injury to the vessel is believed to have been attributable to a beforehand uncharted shoal within the neighborhood of the Unalaska Bay space.
Shell gained approval for this summer time’s Arctic plans from the U.S. Interior Department in May and the corporate continues to be awaiting one last allow earlier than it’s allowed to start drilling operations.
AIS information confirmed the Fennica nonetheless moored in Dutch Harbor as of Monday.
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