"Greens Urge U.S. To Refuse Shell's Final Arctic Drilling Permits"

"Environmental groups on Tuesday urged the U.S. government not to grant Royal Dutch Shell final permits for Arctic oil exploration after an icebreaker with safety equipment to cap wells was put out of action.

Ten groups, including Oceana, Greenpeace, and the Sierra Club, said in a letter that under Shell's exploration plans, the U.S. Interior Department cannot allow it to begin exploring for oil in the Chukchi Sea off northern Alaska while the icebreaker, the Fennica, is unavailable.

Shell is sending the Fennica to Portland, Oregon for repairs after crew discovered a 39 inch (1 meter) gash on the ship's hull last week. It is believed that a shoal caused the rip, even though the Fennica was in charted waters."

Timothy Gardner reports for Reuters July 14, 2015.

SEE ALSO:

"Groups Want Shell's Arctic Plans Stopped After Ship Damaged" (AP)