Shells Arctic Oil Spill Response Plans Approved

zoomThe Arctic Challenger, photographed in Bellingham last month with two activists chained to its anchor chain. An oil spill containment barge Arctic Challenger is the first vessel in Royal Dutch Shells Arctic drilling fleet to depart for Alaska after the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals approved the companys oil spill response plans, Reuters reports. The Court reached a 2-1 decision in favor of Shell and against the coalition of environmentalist groups led by Earthjustice, who sought to revoke a federal approval of the companys oil spill response plans. The Court said that US Bureau of Safety Environmental Enforcements approval of the plans was lawful as they complied with federal oil pollution laws. The environmentalists argued that Shells claims that it could recover 90% to 95% of oil in case of a spill were unsupported assumptions, saying that the federal approval was arbitrary. As World Maritime News previously reported, Shell proposes the drilling of up to six wells within the Burger Prospect, located in approximately 140 feet of water in the Chukchi Sea, about 70 miles northwest of the village of Wainwright. Shell will conduct its operations using the drillship M/V Noble Discoverer and the semi-submersible drilling unit Transocean Polar Pioneer, with each vessel providing relief-well capability for the other. World Maritime News Staff