Protesters greet Shell oil-derrick ship in Everett

EVERETT — The oil-drilling ship Noble Discoverer entered Puget Sound on Tuesday and arrived at dinnertime at the Port of Everett, where it is to be parked for an undisclosed period before proceeding to Seattle.

Ten protesters in kayaks greeted the Discoverer’s arrival here but kept their distance as the big ship entered Port Gardner around 5:30 p.m., sailed to the East Waterway and docked at a Port of Everett pier.

The ship has a 175-foot-tall oil derrick. In Seattle, it is to join a fleet which Royal Dutch Shell is assembling for exploratory drilling in Alaska this summer.

After the ship was docked, the kayakers ventured closer and unfurled two banners for the benefit of journalists in a Greenpeace inflatable motorboat: “ShellNo.org” and “Arctic drilling = climate chaos.”

“Shell no!” is the rallying cry of protesters this week as the oil company’s fleet — and protesters — gather on Puget Sound.

One of the kayackers, Jordan VanVoast, said the event here “is just a warm up” of what is expected to be a far bigger protest in Seattle on Saturday.

Lisa Marcus of Seattle said she decided to join the group in Everett “to make sure Shell knows we’re un-welcoming them. I’m concerned about global warming,” she said, as well as Shell’s plans to drill in the Arctic.

The Noble Explorer is not expected to remain at the Port of Everett for long, said port spokeswoman Lisa Lefeber.

“It’s coming here for a brief stop to do some ship work and cargo loading and unloading,” she said. It is owned by London-based Noble Corp., which leases drilling rigs.

Shell’s Arctic drilling program cleared a major bureaucratic hurdle Monday when the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management approved a multi-year exploration plan in the Chukchi Sea.

Shell must still obtain other permits from state and federal agencies, and opponents said they aren’t giving up. They focused their attention Tuesday on the Port of Seattle’s decision earlier this year to grant a two-year, $13 million lease for terminal space to Foss Maritime, a local company that’s working with Shell to prepare its fleet for heading up to the Arctic. The city of Seattle has said the use of the terminal as a base for drill rigs isn’t allowed under the port’s current land-use permit, which is for cargo operations.

Foss said it will appeal that determination and forge ahead with its plans in the meantime. On Tuesday, the port commission voted to appeal as well, while it also voted to ask Foss to ask Shell to delay any moorage of oil exploration vessels pending further legal review.

Foss said it would do no such thing. Before the vote, company president Paul Stevens noted that the commission knew full well what activities would be occurring at the terminal when it granted the lease.

The nearly five-hour Port of Seattle Commission meeting on Tuesday drew a wide range of voices, including several people who traveled from Alaska.

“Drilling for oil in the precious Arctic is not on the right side of history,” Richard Hodgin, a drilling opponent from Seattle, told commissioners.

Representatives of Alaska Native corporations argued that environmentalists opposing the drilling don’t understand the economic needs of Alaska’s Natives, and Alaska state Sen. Cathy Giessel urged the commission to honor the history of economic ties between Washington and Alaska that date to the Alaska Gold Rush and continue today with Washington refineries handling Alaska oil.

Meanwhile, protests on sea and land are planned through the weekend at the Port of Seattle, where the Shell fleet is assembling. Tuesday, protesters set up a tall tripod-shaped structure at the gate of the Shell facility in an effort to disrupt work there. A coalition of organizations predicted that thousands would turn out this weekend.

The Discoverer entered Admiralty Inlet during the noon hour, accompanied by three tugboats.

The centerpiece of Shell’s plans this summer, however, is a 400-foot-tall drilling platform called the Polar Pioneer. It is in Port Angeles now.

“The Polar Pioneer is scheduled to arrive at Terminal 5 (in Seattle) later this week,” Megan Baldino, a Shell spokeswoman, told the Peninsula Daily News on Monday.

Herald writer Sharon Salyer reported from the Port of Everett.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Kelli Littlejohn, who was 11 when her older sister Melissa Lee was murdered, speaks to a group of investigators and deputies to thank them for bringing closure to her family after over 30 years on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘She can rest in peace’: Jury convicts Bothell man in 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Everett police searching for missing child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive. The child was missing under “suspicious circumstances.”

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

T.J. Peters testifies during the murder trial of Alan Dean at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Bothell cold case trial now in jury’s hands

In court this week, the ex-boyfriend of Melissa Lee denied any role in her death. The defendant, Alan Dean, didn’t testify.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.