Transocean’s Polar Pioneer has recently become the center of attention in Seattle. On 12 May 2015 a request was made by the Port of Seattle commissioners which asked Shell to postpone the rig’s move to the Port of Seattle’s Terminal 5 while permitting issues are worked out. Terminal 5 has been leased for two years to Foss Maritime, who will service Shell’s Arctic drilling fleet.
The reaction from Seattle’s City Council and Port of Seattle came during the lead up to the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management granting Shell conditional approval for its Arctic exploration program on 11 May.
With over US$1 billion invested in the summer drilling program, and a short window which operations may occur, the rig was moved through Elliot Bay on 14 May amid a small band of kayaking protestors and moored at Terminal 5 in the evening.
However, some Seattleites have no plans to ignore this blatant disregard of local opinion.
“Several dozen activists began gathering in Seacrest Park on the West Seattle waterfront before launching their kayaks and a handful of small boats. Many of the kayakers rented vessels and received training at Alki Kayak Tours next to the park,” reported The Seattle Times. The small demonstration, organized by various groups, such as sHellNo, was only the first planned protest. sHellNo will continue to protest Shell’s Arctic activities from 16-18 May, with another flotilla rally on 16 May, as well as another big event planned for 18 May near Terminal 5.
“We will converge on the Seattle waterfront by land and sea, transforming Terminal 5 and Harbor Island into a festival of resistance that will nonviolently block Shell’s preparations for Arctic drilling,” states shellno.org.
Earlier this year on 6 April, six members of Greenpeace boarded the Polar Pioneer while it was en route to the Pacific Northwest. Shortly after, US courts granted Shell a temporary restraining order against the organization, prohibiting them from performing similar protests. Greenpeace and its activists are barred from boarding, barricading or interfering with the movement of the drillship Noble Discoverer, the drilling rig Polar Pioneer or the heavy-lift vessel Blue Marlin.
Image credit: David Rosen
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