Sea ice in the Chukchi Sea at Shell’s proposed Arctic drill site © Jiri Rezac / Greenpeace
Some of the support vessels for Shell’s drilling program have begun to move into the Arctic to exploit the melting sea ice, despite the fact that the company does not have final permits needed to begin drilling, its oil spill response barge has not been certified, and it can’t meet required clean air standards for its drill rig, the 46 year old converted log carrier known as the “Noble Discoverer.” With the threat of Arctic drilling looming, marine biologist John Hocevar took a small research submarine down to the site where Shell hopes to drill this summer, and discovered abundant corals known as “sea raspberry.”