Cargo Business Newswire

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Judge rules Seattle port can host Shell’s Arctic drilling rigs

A King County judge has affirmed Shell's right to park its Arctic drilling ships in Seattle. On July 31st, Judge Douglass North shut down an environmental coalition's challenge to the lease — thereby allowing that one of Shell's Arctic drilling rigs can return to Seattle in the fall.

The environmental coalition — including Earthjustice, the Sierra Club, the Seattle Audubon Society, the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, and the Washington Environmental Council — argued that the Port of Seattle pulled an illegal shortcut around a full

environmental review for the lease at Terminal 5 that provides off-season space for Shell's Arctic fleet.

"The judge’s ruling confirms what we’ve known all along: Terminal 5 is properly permitted to tie up these vessels, sometimes for extended periods," Paul Queary, a spokesperson for Foss Maritime, said. "We look forward to the hearings examiner reaching the same conclusion."

For more of The Stranger story: www.thestranger.com