Arctic-bound Drill Rigs Shadowed by Greenpeace

Greenpeace ship spotted off Manchester in advance of Alaska trip for ocean research & to  keep an eye on Shell drilling rigs

The Greenpeace ship Esperanza, with a rainbow painted on its bow, was seen anchored off Manchester then conducted training exercises as its crew prepares to "shadow" two Shell oil rigs headed to Alaska, reports the 'Kitsap Sun'.

Several South Kitsap residents reported seeing the 237-foot ship moored near Blake Island, and some people said they spotted what looked like a small submarine operating in the area.

Joe Smyth, Greenpeace spokesman in Washington, D.C. confirmed that the ship is being prepared to travel to the Chukchi Sea, keeping a distance from the oil-drilling vessels Noble Discoverer, a drillship, and the Kulluk platform.

Smyth said the goal is for the Esperanza to stay near the drill sites with science and activist observers on board. The ship will deploy state-of-the-art submarines, which will be the first to research the remote and little-understood ocean floor of the Arctic seas.

"The crews will be using submarines to document the steep floor and the marine life along with various attributes of the Chukchi Sea," he said. "That will be part of a couple-month-long expedition we're undertaking to document the potential impacts of an oil spill in the Arctic and what Shell is doing up there.

With scientists on board, the goal is to, as much as possible, bring the public along so the company can't do what it wants without public scrutiny."

Drilling for oil in the Arctic has been opposed by environmentalists for many years. Shell plans to start operations in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas by mid-July after receiving several required federal permits. Other companies are lining up to follow Shell's lead.