Shell drill ship runs aground on Sitkalidak Island off the Alaska coast
The Kulluk washed ashore on Sitkalidak Island after tow failures in a severe winter storm
A Shell offshore drilling rig broke free from its tow vessels in a severe winter storm and ran aground on a remote Alaskan island on Dec. 31, 2012.
The Kulluk, a 266-foot conical drilling unit, washed ashore on the southeast coast of Sitkalidak Island, just south of Kodiak Island. The grounding followed a multi-day struggle by maritime crews to secure the rig in swells up to 35 feet and near-hurricane-force winds.
The U.S. Coast Guard had safely evacuated the Kulluk’s 18-member crew by helicopter days prior after the rig's primary tow vessel, the Aiviq, experienced mechanical failures and towlines repeatedly parted in the Gulf of Alaska.
Following the grounding, a unified command team reported the rig remained upright and structurally intact. No environmental damage or leaks were detected from the estimated 143,000 gallons of diesel fuel and 12,000 gallons of other petroleum products on board.
The rig was en route from the Aleutian Islands to a Seattle shipyard for winter maintenance when the towing system failed. The vessel was later refloated and salvaged, and a subsequent National Transportation Safety Board investigation attributed the accident to inadequate risk assessment and poor tow planning by Shell.
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