ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Royal Dutch Shell PLC’s forayinto Arctic offshore drilling has suffered a
serious setback after oneof its two Alaska drilling rigs ran aground in shallow water off a
smallisland.Officials at a unified command center run by the CoastGuard, Shell, state responders and others
said the Kulluk groundedMonday night on rocks off the southeast side of Sitkalidak Island, anuninhabited
island in the Gulf of Alaska.The Kulluk was beingtowed by a 360-foot anchor handler, the Aiviq, and a
tugboat, the Alert.The vessels were moving north along Kodiak Island, trying to escape theworst of a North
Pacific storm that included winds near 70 mph andswells to 35 feet. Sitkalidak is on the southeast side of
Kodiak Island.About4:15 p.m., the drill ship separated from the Aiviq about 10 to 15 milesoff shore and
grounding was inevitable, Coast Guard Cmdr. ShaneMontoya, the acting federal on-scene coordinator, told
reporters."Oncethe Aiviq lost its tow, we knew the Alert could not manage the Kullukon its own as far
as towing, and that’s when we started planning for thegrounding," he said.The command center instructed
the nine tugcrew members to guide the drill ship to a place where it would cause theleast environmental
damage. The tug cut the unmanned ship loose at 8:15p.m. and it grounded at 9 p.m. near the north tip of
Ocean Bay onSitkalidak."The Alert was not able to do anything as far as towing the Kulluk but tried to
maintain some kind of control," Montoya said.Thedrill ship drafts 35 to 40 feet of water. The Coast
Guard planned tofly out early Tuesday to plan a salvage operation and possible spillresponse. It is carrying
150,000 gallons of diesel and about 12,000gallons of lube oil and hydraulic fluid, Montoya said.SusanChilds,
Shell’s on-scene coordinator, said it was too early to know howthe vessel would react to the pounding of the
storm when it was agroundand stationary.She was optimistic about its salvage prospects and chances for
staying intact."Theunique design of the Kulluk means the diesel fuel tanks are isolated inthe center of
the vessel and encased in very heavy steel," she said."When the weather subsides and it is safe to
do so, we will dispatchcrews to the location and begin a complete assessment."The Kullukis designed for
extended drilling in Arctic waters and underwent $292million in technical upgrades since 2006 to prepare for
Alaska offshoreexploration. The drill ship worked during the short 2012 open waterseason in the Beaufort Sea
off Alaska’s north coast. Its ice-reinforced,funnel-shape hull can deflect moving ice downward and break it
intopieces.Attached to a drilling prospect, the Kulluk is designed tohandle waves 18 feet high. When
disconnected from a well, it’s designedto handle seas to 40 feet. Garth Pulkkinen of Noble Corp., the
operatorof the drill ship, said it was never in danger of capsizing.Thevessel first separated from a towing
vessel Thursday night south ofKodiak Island. It was carrying a skeleton crew of 17 as it was towed bythe
Aiviq from Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands to Seattle formaintenance. The tow line broke at a shackle
attached to one of thevessels."It was new. It was inspected before it left Dutch, but it broke,"
said Shell Alaska spokesman Curtis Smith.Beforea line could be reattached, the Aiviq’s engines failed,
possibly fromcontaminated fuel. The Coast Guard cutter Alex Haley attempted to securethe drifting drill ship
but that line failed and wrapped itself aroundone of the cutter’s propellers, requiring the cutter to return
to Kodiakon one propeller.With bad weather predicted, the Kulluk’s crewwas evacuated Saturday. They hooked
up emergency tow lines and left themtrailing behind the vessel in case they were needed.The Aiviq,with its
engines restored, and a tug re-established lines to the drillship, but lines broke Sunday. During a lull in
the storm early Monday,the crew of Alert grabbed the original 400-foot line trailing the drillship and later
the Aiviq grappled aboard one of the emergency lines.Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.