"Lifeboats from an oil rig that was temporarily grounded on a small island in southern Alaska may have leaked as much as 272 gallons of diesel fuel into pristine waters along the shoreline, but that cannot be determined until a full inspection is completed, U.S. Coast Guard officials said."
"A preliminary assessment of four survival boats and one rescue boat at Sitkalidak Island, near Kodiak Island, where the Kulluk rig became stuck along the rocky shore, has revealed that some fuel tanks on the smaller boats were damaged, incident commanders said in a statement late Wednesday.
Each of the survival boats, which were left behind when the Kulluk was towed away from the beach to safety this week, contained a 68-gallon fuel tank. Incident response officials said they were informed that of those, one appeared to be intact, two had been damaged, and one was inaccessible and could not be examined.
“As such, approximately up to 272 gallons of diesel fuel may have been released from the tanks,” the response team said in the statement."
Kim Murphy reports for the Los Angeles Times January 9, 2013.
SEE ALSO:
"Shell May Have Moved Rig To Avoid Taxes: U.S. Lawmaker" (Reuters)
"EPA Cites Shell Arctic Drilling Rigs for Air Emissions Violations" (Los Angeles Times)
"Shell CEO Defends Arctic Operations as Company Touts New Technology Hub" (EnergyWire)
