50 Replies to "Shell @ Terminal 5: What you need to know about Saturday & Monday protests - what's happening where and when"

• Buck May 15, 2015 (6:17 pm)

  Great! Now the eco-terrorists are taking money out of people’s pockets and thus food out of their children’s mouths. Seattle needs to find a balance between the right of whack jobs to protest and the right of everybody else to get on with their day. Mayor Murray, you spineless POS, you have a lot of bridges to re-build before your attempt at re-election. To the protestors : if you are so worried about CO2 emissions, I suggest that you all collectively stop breathing.

  Thank you.

• Typical guy May 15, 2015 (6:23 pm)

  Nice, more protesters accomplishing NOTHING while making it harder to get around in a place with ZERO transportation plan. Oh, and these protesters all own and drive cars fueled by gasoline….this is so dumb. If protesters want to make a difference, they need to bomb refineries ala EarthFirst!, they need to go to oil-producing countries and bomb their wells and refineries, and they need to walk the walk….as in, no cars. I agree that Shell is evil, but this whole protest is so dumb. And painful, because it’s well intended, but useless.

• West Seattle Hipster May 15, 2015 (6:41 pm)

  Saw it tonight driving home from work. Very impressive structure.

• Curious May 15, 2015 (6:53 pm)

  Any word on what the police plan to do if the protesters decide to trespass on port property(harbor island)? I would hope they would protect the private property rights of the Ports business .

  • WSB May 15, 2015 (7:07 pm)

    Yes, they said they plan to enforce the law.

• rob May 15, 2015 (7:07 pm)

  All this and the alki run should be interesting

  • WSB May 15, 2015 (7:21 pm)

    Nothing’s planned on Sunday, Rob, so far.

• joel May 15, 2015 (7:13 pm)

  that thing makes those other ships look TINY! Something interesting to talk about and my taxes aren’t going up and hopefully no one is bashing windows and stealing crap – seen enough of that on tv from back east. go float your kayaks and hopefully feed the parking meters and buy some expensive coffee and pastries so the tax revenue goes up.

• Lesley May 15, 2015 (7:14 pm)

  Protests are the most powerful way to draw attention to a cause and incite change. Even the “tea partiers” of the GOP took their name from one of the most notorious of protests. We all enjoy the fruits of these protests (except the mega-rich and exploitive) and they are still necessary in our society. I don’t think anyone is advocating taking “food out of children’s mouths,” Buck. In fact, the protestors are trying to preserve a world that we and our children can actually survive in.

• TBone May 15, 2015 (7:43 pm)

  Having driven across the high bridge the last few days, I must say it is an impressive, albeit slightly cartoonish thing. I have no opinion on protesters… Actually I do, but I know it will void my comment…

• Vigilant May 15, 2015 (7:46 pm)

  Typical guy: I hope you truly are not advocating bombing? People are monitoring this site. If anything happens you have just become a suspect.

• Admiral resident May 15, 2015 (7:49 pm)

  Obviously WSB you are anti shell polar pioneer or you wouldn’t be devoting some much space on the blog to the docking. Move on

  • WSB May 15, 2015 (8:04 pm)

    Hi, AR. We write about what’s happening, particularly what’s happening that’s unusual – that’s what constitutes news. This is news, as are the dozens of other things we cover week in and week out, and we will be continuing to write about it. – Tracy

• Felix May 15, 2015 (8:34 pm)

  To all of those in support of Royal Dutch Shell…here us a little light reading regarding their environmental and human rights track record….http://www.corp-research.org/royal-dutch-shell

• Shellvue May 15, 2015 (8:36 pm)

  To those who are anti protest, I suspect that you’re also part of the Shell No clan and feel frustrated be cause you too know that this is WRONG on so many levels but Shell is too big to fight and you feel hopeless. Classic can’t beat em join em syndrome.

• Shellvue May 15, 2015 (8:39 pm)

  Added: some time I find it easier to breathe when I’m drowing, if you catch what I mean.

• miws May 15, 2015 (9:01 pm)

  Admiral resident, how is reporting news of local interest and importance taking a position on what is being reported?

  .

  Mike

• Alki mom May 15, 2015 (9:02 pm)

  Thanks for keeping us posted WSB. I drove by with my kids and we a great discussion about civil disobedience as well as the rights of ships to have free passage. Teachable moment. Also, it’s hilarious to hear a 5 year old say “kayaktavist”.

• ltfd May 15, 2015 (9:19 pm)

  Since Terminal 5 is bordered by Harbor Ave SW & SW Spokane St., contiguous to West Seattle, why on earth would protesters go to Harbor Island?

• Jamo May 15, 2015 (9:22 pm)

  Some of you sound similar to Loyalist conservatives in 1773 objecting to the demonstrators in Boston. However, in 2015, the stakes are much higher. I hope everyone available gathers in West Seattle this weekend to support the people standing up for our shared future.

• ChefJoe May 15, 2015 (9:34 pm)

  Felix, what about those of us who are pro-port of seattle getting paid for T5 and predictable interpretation of established land use permits? What murray’s trying to do is right up there with the pandering of McGinn’s attempt to get the DPD to start to consider if the grocery store is unionized as a “community benefit” for an alley vacation.

• JayDee May 15, 2015 (9:36 pm)

  Did you all know that cruise ships dock in Seattle, fuel up, and then waste that fuel driving up to Alaska to show privileged tourists the natural wonders while destroying the same environment through air pollution and bilge dumping, only to come back to Seattle and do it again?
  –
  I don’t see anyone protesting totally pointless cruise ships that burn diesel that is obtained from oil fields that companies like Shell drill and refine. Isn’t the first rule of a war on Oil to penalize and criminalize demand…But wait, plastic kayaks, cars to drag them here…and gasoline to fuel them…That would make the protesters hypocritical, wouldn’t it?
  –
  Protest the cruise ships too and be consistent in your protest and donate your cars to charity. Leave the kayaks on the beach so other can use them for free since the fossil fuel to make them is a sunk cost.

• BB May 15, 2015 (9:54 pm)

  Curious,

  The Port of Seattle is not private property…it is Public property that is managed and leased by the Port of Seattle Commissioners…who are elected officials. Which is why it is so egregious that the Port Commissioners leased to Shell without any environmental review or public notification, which by the way the department of planning and development has determined has violated their existing permit as a cargo terminal…a base for a oil drilling operation is NOT a cargo terminal and constitutes a change of use…and requires environmental review…which of course the Port and Shell knew.

• Jim May 15, 2015 (10:23 pm)

  I have to agree with Admiral Resident: Why bother covering this anymore? The rig is here, it always was going to be here, it will eventually leave on schedule to do the work it was always going to do. There seems to be three dozen people in Seattle who can’t live with that and giving those people this kind of publicity is a little bit tiring. What are “protests” over the weekend supposed to accomplish. It’s mildly narcissistic.

• Sarah May 15, 2015 (10:47 pm)

  1. Shell is not properly equipped to deal with drilling in the Arctic. They failed the first time and there’s no reassurance they’ll succeed this time. (An ice burg the size of Manhattan shut down their first attempt not 24 hours after their first drill.)
  2. All of their emergency spill tests were conducted on calm seas. The Arctic is any but.
  3. If I were a stockholder, I’d be worried at the 6 billion dollars they’ve already dumped into this ill-advised venture.
  4. That any of the protesters got to the protest site by fossil-fuel-means, means that there isn’t any alternative … yet! Duh!
  5. It will be more than 20 years before any usable oil is garnered from the Arctic. That’s a long time to observe the effects of carbon/fossil fuel based climate change. (Our own Puget Sound water levels will have risen significantly by then.) And a lot of time to implement alternative fuel products. Other countries have already done it, why can’t we?
  6. Jobs & money loss at terminal 5? This is what some of these commenters are focused on. It is nothing in the big picture. So much more $ to be gained by investing in renewable energy. Period.

• G May 15, 2015 (10:47 pm)

  Disrupting people’s livelihood’s? What a selfish pedestrian concern when the whole world hangs in the balance! We are so luck to have these wise prophets to look into the future, and determine what’s best for us poor simpletons who have a tough time grasping the whole CO2 thing.

  Good god, the narcissism of the environmental movement is really quite jaw-dropping.

• Community Member May 15, 2015 (10:56 pm)

  Shell was granted the leases in 2008, and has invested 6 billion dollars in exploration research since then. Oppose it or not, but do understand that it’s not like they just decided last week to start exploring for oil in the arctic. And they aren’t going to walk away from an entirely legal, permitted, 6 billion dollar investment because of local protests.
  .
  I’m not offering an opinion, just pointing out the 6 billion.

  • WSB May 16, 2015 (12:25 am)

    Just one more thing, as I just discovered a document that means I have to write one more story about this before the night ends. This is not just a story about an oil rig, or two oil rigs, or the other vessels. It’s a story about people. And politics. Not just the protesters. The workers too. I would also have liked to have been able to show and tell you the story about the workers at T-5 who’ve been on the job for weeks – I asked Foss weeks ago to allow us into T-5 to show and tell that story – we were not granted that permission. It was a little annoying to therefore see TV people allowed in the other day, showing some of the items that will be loaded onto Polar Pioneer. But, oh well. It’s also about public process and what’s being done in your name, whether you support it or not. We have paid way too little attention to the port over the years – it’s of far more importance to our area than it gets credit for. I was surprised to learn at one of the port commission meetings I’ve covered since January that the commission itself is part time and delegates much of its authority to the CEO. This whole matter has led it to pass some new policies that at least give it the ability to take that authority back if something major like this comes up in the future. Meantime, two Port Commission positions are on the ballot, and whatever you think about this and how it’s been handled, this will almost certainly be an issue. (Incumbent Bill Bryant, a supporter of the lease, is running for governor instead of for commission re-election.) In the immediate future, the city and the port have to hash things out – I just found the Port’s appeal document of the DPD “interpretation,” filed minutes before COB Friday, so, off to write something up on that. And then we’ll see what the morning brings, whether it’s seven “kayaktivists” or 700; we’ll also be out covering a variety of other things of note happening tomorrow, including the 35th SW walking tour – hope to see and hear from some of those who feel so passionately about that proposal! … TR

• JanS May 16, 2015 (12:15 am)

  to those who don’t like the coverage here…don’t read it. Period. You cared enough to comment. Please…when the other news sources in this city, this country report news, do you automatically think, well, they must be anti-whatever, or pro-whatever, since they keep reporting on it. I think this coverage has been exemplary.

  And for those who don’t like the protestors…is that because it may inconvenience you? Yes, there is irony in how they will get there, and in what their kayaks MAY be made of. But at least they feel strong enough about their beliefs to actually do something about it,to stand up for them, which is more than I can sat about the majority posting here. Anonymously grousing about them isn’t much of a statement, is it? Lets not rock your world too much, huh….

• Smug May 16, 2015 (12:24 am)

  I haven’t driven a car since 1/1/2002.
  And my neighborhood has WalkScore of 49.
  :) :):)

• dsa May 16, 2015 (12:29 am)

  Sad, they forced closure of pier 18 on Monday which has nothing to do with this.

• m May 16, 2015 (6:06 am)

  Before the protesters were just annoying. Now that they are going to ruin the Monday commute they have gone too far. Very rude.

• Smitty May 16, 2015 (7:37 am)

  So now our already stretched resources will be stretched even further protecting T5 from occupiers?

  Curious if they snarl traffic on Monday if the media will report how many lives were lost because of slowed medical emergency transport, etc. ala “bridge”gate reporting?

• G May 16, 2015 (8:16 am)

  Yes, there are a lot of issues that are being raised by the oil rig some of them directly related to the Port’s handling of the matter, but in the broader context, also whether the city will continue to encourage it’s blue collar roots, like a working waterfront, or continue on a path to being a playground for “activists” who will increasingly dictate policy and livelihoods.

• Les May 16, 2015 (8:40 am)

  In 20 years when it wants that arctic-drilled oil Shell should charge Washington triple the market rate. Of course the same people now protesting would squawk that the mean corporation was being unfair.

• Neighbor May 16, 2015 (8:46 am)

  I am appalled that WSB actually allowed the first comment describing these concerned Americans as “ecoterrorist.”

  Lesser slights have not been published.

• Lesley May 16, 2015 (9:12 am)

  I think it’s awfully “rude” of Shell to disregard the city and Port’s request to delay their use of Terminal 5 and plow ahead into our bay anyway. They are in violation of the law by operating without a permit, and, of course, are happy to just pay a few hundred dollars in fines per day to continue to do so. This is the world we live in – where a giant like Royal Dutch Shell is completely above the law. Money rules.

  But if the protestors move into an area where they do not have a permit to demonstrate, they might get pepper sprayed, assaulted, or hauled off to jail.

• Lesley May 16, 2015 (9:22 am)

  And with regards to the fact that Shell will help to create jobs, it’s a sick situation that we’re in to have to make these choices. The powers that be (ie the megacorporations and megarich) love keeping us in this precarious position where we are constantly teetering on the edge, living paycheck to paycheck, narrowly averting eviction. They can dangle the carrot of some JOBS in front of our noses and we’ll let them do whatever they want to do if they’ll just give us a few jobs. And then people say, “Thank you Shell!” Meanwhile, the CEO’s of these companies could never possibly use all the money they make in one year over the course of a lifetime. It’s like feudalism in Europe all over again! The “activists” you refer to, G, are but a drop in the bucket compared to the power that these corporations hold over our elected officials. How else do we fight against the power these rich bullies possess without activism? This is a democracy. We should all be “activists,” meaning we are actively participating in the policies and livelihoods of our society. Not only voting, but being loud and visible to inspire one another, to create an impact and draw attention to the issues. To create a scenario where we can have these discussions, instead of what we’re seeing here, where things are just getting pushed ahead without a public review. I doubt any of these activists want to take away anyone’s jobs. We have to stand up to this nonsense. I hate that we are in a situation where we have to choose between someone having a job to maintain a roof over their heads and feed their family, and moving towards with a practice that we know completely disregards everything humans depend on for survival as a species. That is the true crux of the matter that HAS to change.

• Felix May 16, 2015 (9:42 am)

  Royal Dutch Shell is the Law…because the Law is $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
  Also Ironic…Corporations now considered to be human entities…well, Shell Corp seems to be a person with absoloutley no regard for other humans..no empathy…no compassion…and if you doubt that his is true, simply look up info on their Niger Delta operations.

• ChefJoe May 16, 2015 (9:56 am)

  Lesley,
  it struck me as rather odd listening to the DPD director saying they have “no plans at this time to review other Port permits for other terminals” with regard to moorage vs shipping. Doesn’t that seem like selective enforcement of this new interpretation, suggesting something is odd ? Should the Seattle Fire Boats be cast off from their terminal until they apply for mooring permits ?

• melissa May 16, 2015 (10:17 am)

  Sarah’s response above was so very eloquent and thorough that I am going to reprint it here, in case anyone scrolled through and missed it. Well said, Sarah! The only thing I’d like to add is again, the likelihood of a catastrophic spill in an incredibly environmentally sensitive area. Where it will harm not just little beasties, but the whole dang planet. You, your food, your children, the natives who live up there, as well as the fish and orcas and bears. Even if you don’t want to look out for those other beings, I wonder at the willingness to show contempt and dismissiveness to those who do.

  “1. Shell is not properly equipped to deal with drilling in the Arctic. They failed the first time and there’s no reassurance they’ll succeed this time. (An ice burg the size of Manhattan shut down their first attempt not 24 hours after their first drill.)
  2. All of their emergency spill tests were conducted on calm seas. The Arctic is any but.
  3. If I were a stockholder, I’d be worried at the 6 billion dollars they’ve already dumped into this ill-advised venture.
  4. That any of the protesters got to the protest site by fossil-fuel-means, means that there isn’t any alternative … yet! Duh!
  5. It will be more than 20 years before any usable oil is garnered from the Arctic. That’s a long time to observe the effects of carbon/fossil fuel based climate change. (Our own Puget Sound water levels will have risen significantly by then.) And a lot of time to implement alternative fuel products. Other countries have already done it, why can’t we?
  6. Jobs & money loss at terminal 5? This is what some of these commenters are focused on. It is nothing in the big picture. So much more $ to be gained by investing in renewable energy. Period.”

• Lesley May 16, 2015 (11:35 am)

  ChefJoe,
  I actually don’t have much to say about what is specifically happening with the Polar Pioneer and the Port, as far as setting precedent, etc. I am more interested in the bigger picture of this and I think that those who are opposed to the Polar Pioneer are opposed to it as a symbol of what we are fighting against – the expansion of drilling in the Arctic and the power of large fossil fuels companies in general. I feel that, all the time, governments selectively enforce based on what is important to either their constituents or their financial backers. It is par for the course in our current system. It often goes against the general interest of the people or the common good and usually in the interests of those with lots of money. I am proud to have some people in office in Seattle who are, instead, siding with what is better for the common good instead of what is good for corporate interests. The pessimist in me fully expects that the Polar Pioneer and other rigs will be in Seattle until they are physically forced to leave, because they would opt to pay fines over risking missing out on another season of drilling. And they have the money to do that without batting an eye. It is the corrupt system that we face. Those with money get by with things those without money do not.

• G May 16, 2015 (11:36 am)

  Lesley,

  Do some research on how well-funded the global warming movement is and how it is directing policy in this country, trying to squelch moderate scientific voices who take a less sensational view on global warming, even trying to circumvent our democracy by doing an end-around through the EPA. Cap-and-trade? A transfer of wealth from one pocket to another, and a tax on you and me. Trying to frame this as the poor environmentalists against the rich corporation is just nonsense. Power and control doesn’t know political or ideological divisions. Who is being naive??

• Citizen Sane May 16, 2015 (12:05 pm)

  I’m all for ‘consciousness-raising’, and I do hope this kayak protest goes safely, and that no one does anything stupid (taking a tumble into this cold water is NOT pleasant!), but I can’t help but feel this is just more self-indulgent, ultimately ineffectual ‘street theater’ (much like the hapless ‘ecoterrorists’ lampooned in “Portlandia” season 4, episode 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REawfvaQyIo).
  .
  I do wonder how many of these ‘kayaktivists’ are registered to vote, and actually DO so in non-presidential election years?

• lesley May 16, 2015 (12:34 pm)

  give me a link to look at regarding the well-funded global warming movement, G. I hope they are well-funded because there is quite a bit of cash on the other side and our system is currently set up So the rich win.

• Delridge Denizen May 16, 2015 (12:46 pm)

  Catching a ball game this evening. Any impact to toe Water Taxi, be it access or schedule? Thanks!

  • WSB May 16, 2015 (1:31 pm)

    Delridge – we’ve been running around the past few hours and I’m finally about to start publishing something about what’s happening by the water. Right now, it’s really busy. No place to park – cars are running all the way up Ferry Avenue, as well as far down Harbor toward the bridge, etc. But if you can take Metro or get a ride, no problem. The congestion was worst before everyone got in the water. Of course, they’re supposed to start heading in in an hour or two and it will get busy again. No schedule changes though.

• Delridge Denizen May 16, 2015 (4:44 pm)

  Thanks WSB! Seems like it might be a bit messy down that way, but it’s hard to predict. Appreciate the update!

• alkigirl May 17, 2015 (9:31 pm)

  Thanks for the coverage. WSB any idea about impacts to Monday morning commute across West Seattle bridge to downtown?

  • WSB May 17, 2015 (9:41 pm)

    I’m checking around right now before writing a short separate reminder in a little bit. The press advisory from the organizing coalition still says they’re gathering at the fishing bridge at 7 pm and heading toward T-5.

Sorry, comment time is over.