Murkowski Shares Concerns Toward Shell’s Drilling Operations

Peter Granitz/APRN

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski says in light of the Kulluk’s grounding, the government needs to look at all aspects of Shell’s Arctic drilling operations.

Speaking on Talk of Alaska yesterday, Senator Murkowski called the grounding a “marine incident.” The oil and gas industry, and its supporters in Washington D.C., have labeled the grounding a transportation issue. But yesterday, Senator Murkowski said it’s more than just that.

—          (Senator Kulluk 2                   :14       “I share the concerns of many … to us as Americans.”)

Both the Department of Interior and the Coast Guard are conducting separate reviews. The Interior study is due out in a couple of weeks.

The Royal Dutch Shell drilling rig Kulluk had been under tow across the Gulf of Alaska when it broke free during a storm and ran hard aground on Sitkalidak Island, near Old H arbor, on New Year’s Eve.