"Records Detail Equipment Failure on Arctic Drilling Rig"

"WASHINGTON — Newly released documents reveal the extent of problems with anti-pollution equipment on a Shell-contracted Arctic drillship earlier this year.

The records, provided by the U.S. Coast Guard in response to a Freedom of Information Act request, also describe a botched fire drill by the crew of another Shell-contracted drilling rig months before it began boring an exploratory oil well in the Chukchi Sea.

That rig, the Transocean Polar Pioneer, was moored in Seattle and being prepared for its Arctic mission in May, when the Coast Guard conducted an initial inspection and two emergency drills onboard.

Neither went well. 'It was apparent that Transocean was not ready for the exam,' the Coast Guard said, in documenting the failed fire drill and abandon ship drill on May 19."
 
Jennifer A. Dlouhy reports for FuelFix/Houston Chronicle August 30, 2015.