page_title: Kulluk
section_title: 2012 grounding
hierarchical_section_title: Kulluk / Career / 2012 grounding
caption_attribution_description: English: Waves crash over the conical drilling unit Kulluk where it sits aground on the southeast side of Sitkalidak Island, Alaska, Jan. 1, 2013. A Unified Command, consisting of the Coast Guard, federal, state and local partners and industry representatives was established in response to the grounding. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Jonathan Klingenberg.
context_page_description: Kulluk was an ice-strengthened drill barge that was used for oil exploration in the Arctic waters. She was constructed by Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding in Japan in 1983 and operated in the Canadian Arctic until 1993 when she was mothballed for over a decade. In 2005, she was purchased and extensively refurbished by Royal Dutch Shell for the drilling operations off the northern coast of Alaska.
  On 31 December 2012, Kulluk drifted aground after the towing line to the icebreaking anchor-handling tug Aiviq parted in heavy weather. While the rig was recovered, the repairs were not deemed feasible and Shell decided to scrap the unit in 2014.
context_section_description: On 31 December 2012, Kulluk drifted aground off Sitkalidak Island in the Gulf of Alaska. Up until October the rig had been working in the Beaufort Sea, off the Alaska North Slope. She was being towed to her winter home in Seattle when she encountered a storm, and the incident occurred. The US Coast Guard evacuated her 18-man crew on 29 December. On New Year's Eve, tug crews were ordered by the US Coast Guard to cut the rig loose, leading to her grounding.
  Kulluk's movement south for the winter was at least in part motivated by an effort to avoid State of Alaska property taxes on oil and gas extraction equipment.
   It's fair to say the current tax structure related to vessels of this type influenced the timing of our departure. 
  — Dec. 27 Email from Shell Alaska spokesman Curtis Smith to the Dutch Harbor Fisherman
  The tax in question is a state property tax of 20 mills (or 2 percent) "on property used or committed by contract or other agreement for use for the pipeline transportation of gas or unrefined oil or for the production of gas or unrefined oil at its full and true value as of January 1 of the assessment year."  The tax liability for the rig is estimated at between 6 and 7 million dollars, based on the value of the rig; however Shell may seek a filing extension to try to pay a lower tax rate given that the rig was grounded, potentially reducing her value, as of January 1.
  Kulluk was carrying 138,000 US gallons (520,000 l; 115,000 imp gal) of ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel, 1,000 US gallons (3,800 l; 830 imp gal) of aviation fuel and 12,000 US gallons (45,000 l; 10,000 imp gal) of lubricants. So far the Coast Guard has reported no sign of a hull breach or fuel spill.
  On January 6, 2013, Kulluk was floated from the rocks. Satisfied the vessel was seaworthy, she was towed to shelter in nearby Kodiak Island's Kiliuda Bay. After further assessment of damage, Kulluk was towed to Captains Bay, Unalaska, where she was loaded on the heavy lift ship Xiang Rui Kou and departed for Singapore for repair and updates around 26 March 2013. Until February 2014, she remained at Keppel FELS Pioneer Yard shipyard in Singapore.
  On 31 October 2013, a Shell representative hinted that Kulluk may not be brought back into operation. On 27 February 2014, Kulluk was again loaded on Xiang Rui Kou which carried the mobile drilling unit to a Chinese scrapyard.
caption: Kulluk aground on the southeast side of Sitkalidak Island on 1 January 2013
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