(May photo by Paul Weatherman: Shell’s Aiviq and Polar Pioneer @ T-5)
This Thursday was supposed to be the day that the city Hearing Examiner started listening to arguments in the fight over permits allowing the Port to allow Foss to host Shell at the Port of Seattle’s Terminal 5. But it’s been pushed back three weeks, according to a notice in this morning’s city Land Use Information Bulletin, with the new start date August 13th, continuing into the following day and August 24th if necessary; the delay was requested by Foss, according to the case file. The Port, Foss, and Shell are appealing the city Department of Planning and Development‘s May “interpretation” saying that the port’s permits for use of the terminal don’t cover what’s involved in hosting Shell. More than a dozen maritime-related businesses sought to join the case in their support, as we reported last month, while environmental groups requested permission to support the city’s position. It’s been five weeks since the Polar Pioneer drill rig left West Seattle to head north; what happens in the appeal process now could affect whether it returns here after whatever happens in the Arctic Ocean later this summer.

Two updates tonight on the future of the Port of Seattle’s Terminal 5 in northeastern West Seattle:

(December 2014 photo by Long Bach Nguyen)
GETTING RID OF THE CRANES: After the port closed the terminal, separate from interim leasing including the Foss/Shell use, it announced plans to sell the six cranes on the site, saying they had been appraised as worth $3.75 million. Ten months later, no buyer(s) have surfaced, so the port wants to pay someone an estimated $4.6 million to take away the six T-5 cranes and one at Terminal 46 on the downtown waterfront. From a briefing paper accompanying last Tuesday’s Port Commission meeting agenda:

Cranes No. 61, 62, 63, 64, 66, and 68 are located at Terminal 5. They were purchased from PACECO Corporation and are classified as post-panamax cranes having a gauge of 100 feet and a lifting capacity of 50 long tons. Crane 54 is located on Terminal 46 and is an IHI crane classified as a panamax having a capacity of 40 long tons and a gauge of 50 feet.

Port staff advertised the cranes in trade journals, contacted used equipment dealers, and reached out to other ports, but received limited interest and no offers. Unfortunately, there are a number of used cranes similar to the PACECOs on the market with very few buyers. There is no market for the IHI crane and it has been inactive since 2008. The result is the Port will have to issue a major public-works contract to have the cranes removed from the terminals.

And that has to be done fast, the port says, because some demolition work is planned at T-5 “in early 2016.” Port spokesperson Peter McGraw tells WSB a final decision is expected at the July 14th commission meeting; this week, along with this briefing, he says commissioners ratified a cost increase in a separate contract to remove three cranes at Terminal 18, which will now cost $1.8 million.

COMMENT TIME FOR MODERNIZATION PLAN: Another public-comment period is now open for the modernization work itself, according to this notice published in the city’s most-recent Land Use Information Bulletin, which summarizes the project as:

Shoreline Substantial Development Application to allow improvements to existing container cargo facility (Terminal 5). Project includes removal and replacement of portions of pier structure, including crane rails, decking and piling, dredging of approximately 29,800 cu. yds. of sediment, and under pier shoreline stabilization. Project also includes installation of an electrical substation and utility upgrades.

You can use this form to send a comment to the city Department of Planning and Development; the deadline is July 24th. You can find what’s been filed with the city by going here and putting 3019071 in the “project number” search box on the left side.

(SCROLL DOWN for updates)

(WSB photo, Sunday @ Don Armeni Boat Ramp)
12:21 AM: Hours after the latest anti-Shell rally at Don Armeni Park – this time, led by Native activists (WSB photo above) – the “Shell No” group says it believes Polar Pioneer will try to depart from Terminal 5 today.

(WSB photo, Sunday from Jack Block Park)
It’s put out a call for people to be ready to join a flotilla blockade, potentially departing from Don Armeni Boat Ramp, where the protest coalition has been headquartered. It’s been exactly a month since the platform leased by Shell for Arctic drilling arrived in West Seattle. The Noble Discoverer drillship, which Shell also plans to deploy, has remained moored in Everett rather than coming to T-5 as once expected.

1:38 AM: A Coast Guard cutter, Blue Shark, is patroling near T-5; in all our watching of maritime comings and goings, we haven’t seen that lately. A Port police boat remains in the area too. And the tug Garth Foss, one of the Foss tugs that brought Polar Pioneer to Seattle from Port Angeles a month ago, arrived in the area not long ago and is stopped offshore northwest of Jack Block Park. Meantime, for a look inside Polar Pioneer and details of exactly where it’s being sent and why, read this in-depth Houston Chronicle story (link tweeted by Stranger reporter Sydney Brownstone).

3:10 AM: Two more of the 4 Foss tugs that brought Polar Pioneer here last month are either in Elliott Bay now (Andrew Foss) or almost here (Lindsey Foss).

4:20 AM: Text alert from the ShellNo Action Council says kayakers have formed “a human blockade to stop Shell from leaving Seattle.” Meantime, tugs are gathering at T-5, MarineTraffic.com shows.

5:31 AM: The activity continues to intensify; more Coast Guard and police vessels are in the area, and one texter tells us a USCG helicopter is up too. We’re heading out for a firsthand look, now that it’s light.

6:16 AM: We’re at Jack Block and Polar Pioneer is definitely pulling out. It’s approaching a water blockade. We’ll be updating in a separate report.

Newest developments in the ongoing Shell presence at Terminal 5 and challenges to it:

WHAT’S UP AT THE DOCK: The latest vessel in the Shell fleet to come dock by the Polar Pioneer is the supply ship Harvey Explorer:

Lynn Hall shared the photo, noticing its arrival in Elliott Bay around 2 pm Friday; it’s one of the vessels specifically called out in the U.S. Coast Guard rule for “safety zones (and) restricted navigation area” related to the Shell Arctic-drilling fleet. We’re also seeing, frequently checking MarineTraffic.com, what appears to be a more constant presence of police/security/port tender boats near T-5. The “Shell No” coalition says it’s watching for signs of potential departure any day now; members expect to deploy a “rapid response” flotilla once they get those signs. It’s based at Don Armeni Boat Ramp:

We photographed the flotilla HQ last night, while musicians performed on the protest barge offshore.

The next major event announced at the barge is tomorrow:

CANOE PROCESSION/RALLY TOMORROW: The Native advocacy movement Idle No More is organizing a canoe procession and rally tomorrow, starting with departure from Don Armeni 10-11 am tomorrow, followed by a rally on the platform, and concluding with a blessing ceremony in late afternoon. The latest information is being posted via this Facebook event page.

MARITIME ‘INTERVENORS’ ASK TO JOIN APPEAL OF CITY ACTION: As first reported here last month, it’ll be late July before the city Hearing Examiner hears the Foss/Port/Shell appeal of the city’s “interpretation” saying the fleet shouldn’t be here. The newest document filed in the case is in support of Foss/Port/Shell, from maritime interests calling themselves the “T-5 intervenors.”

The “T-5 intervenors” are listed as: Alaska Marine Lines, American Seafoods Company, American Waterway Operators, Arctic Fjord, Inc., Arctic Storm, Inc., Ballard Oil Company, Crowley Maritime Corporation, Glacier Fish Company, Premier Pacific Seafoods, Sailors’ Union Of The Pacific, SSA Terminals, LLC, Transportation Institute, and Vigor Industrial LLC. They are asking for permission to “intervene” and show support for the appellants in this case. Their document, embedded above, says they believe that if the interpretation is upheld, it will adversely affect their interests, which, they say, are not exactly the same as Foss, Shell, and the Port:

DPD’s attempt to reinterpret an issued permit after-the-fact has serious far reaching implications on the viability and reliability of the myriad and numerous permits granted to and relied upon by the T-5 Intervenors. For example, any one of the T-5 Intervenors could potentially receive a Notice of Violation at a moment’s notice upon DPD’s reinterpretation of their permits in response to intense political pressure. Or fishing vessels or freight barges could be barred from calling into and docking or mooring for off-season storage and maintenance at Port facilities because DPD changed its mind regarding those operations for similar perceived political reasons at issue in the Appeal. Such a reinterpretation that effectively ejects vessels from their regular operation will undoubtedly and indirectly affect Vigor’s, SSA Terminals, LLC’s and Ballard Oil’s ability to service the array of shipbuilding, repairing, fueling and loading needs of such vessels and operators throughout the region. Neither T-5 Intervenors— nor anyone doing business in Seattle for that matter— can afford to have the terms of their permits and entitlements redefined after issuance. While the Appellants are focused on the Permit and Interpretation at issue in this Appeal, the T-5 Intervenors are focused on the sanctity and security of the permits and entitlements that are part of the bedrock of the maritime industrial community in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest.

The Hearing Examiner now will decide whether to allow this group to intervene. Its filing came days after a decision granting environmental groups’ motion to intervene on the city’s side.

We’re now in what had been reported as Shell’s window for heading north to drill offshore in the Arctic; as of this writing, the Polar Pioneer is still at Terminal 5, and the drillship Noble Discoverer is still in Everett, but one support vessel is reported to be on its way to Alaska. That’s the first of several related developments, including events in West Seattle today/tonight:

ARCTIC CHALLENGER HEADS NORTH: This barge, intended to help in case of a spill, had been in Bellingham but is now on the way to Dutch Harbor, AK, reports Alaska’s KTUU, quoting a Shell spokesperson.

SPILL-RESPONSE PLANS UPHELD: As reported Thursday by SeattlePI.com, three federal judges upheld an approval of Shell’s spill-response plans.

SIX LABOR GROUPS SIGN ‘SHELL NO’ LETTER: This announcement lists OPEIU 8, SEIU 6, UAW Local 4121, UFCW 21, UFW, and Pride at Work/King County Chapter as signatories to a new letter opposing Shell‘s presence at Terminal 5, although, as a preface acknowledges, “We recognize that other labor unions have a position of support for this Oil Rig here.” The preface continues, “We respect their decision, but we feel compelled to speak today given the stakes of climate change and the immediate and long term effects that this has on all people in the US and around the world.”

NEXT WEST SEATTLE PROTEST: According to this frequently updated webpage, picketing is planned at/near the five-ways intersection west of the low bridge this afternoon (Friday, June 12th), 4-6 pm.

FLOTILLA HQ AT DON ARMENI: Organizers are continuing to plan for a “rapid-response” kayak-flotilla protest once they get word the Polar Pioneer is readying to leave. They’re using Don Armeni Boat Ramp as home base and have also set up text messaging to alert potential participants when it’s time.

FRIDAY NIGHT CONCERT ON THE BARGE: A lineup of DJs and musicians are being promoted on social media as #BringTheBoom – Party Protest on the Sound tonight on the barge off Don Armeni, 4-9 pm.

2:41 PM: Seattle Port Commissioners‘ meeting ended early and abruptly this afternoon after protesters in the chambers started chanting “MUR-DE-RERS.” Because of midday breaking news, we couldn’t leave the desk to go downtown, so we were monitoring via the video feed – which was cut shortly after the chanting began. The commission had not yet gotten to general public comments but had instead gone through its “consent agenda” and a variety of briefings on items unrelated to Terminal 5/Foss/Shell. The only reporter we’ve found tweeting from Port HQ on the downtown waterfront, Sydney Brownstone of The Stranger, reports that police cleared the chambers; she has tweeted a photo showing officers, some with bicycles, on the Port HQ front steps, blocking its doors.

ADDED 3:35 PM: Port of Seattle spokesperson Peter McGraw tells WSB that one person was arrested for trespassing and says one officer was assaulted. And he confirms the meeting was adjourned (and will not resume today).

The protests are over for now, but the bureaucratic and legal fight over Shell drilling rigs mooring at the Port of Seattle‘s Terminal 5 is not. The latest move, five days after the arrival of the Polar Pioneer drilling platform, is in the document above that we just obtained from the city Department of Planning and Development – its “notice of violation” issued to the Port of Seattle, interim leaseholder Foss Maritime, and “occupant” Shell Oil, contending that the current “use (is) not established by permit.” The notice gives the entities until June 4th to correct the alleged violation by either moving the Polar Pioneer and the Shell icecutter/tug Aiviq from T-5, or get a new permit allowing them.

(Friday photo by Paul Weatherman: Aiviq and Polar Pioneer @ T-5)
You’ll recall that this started with a city “interpretation” saying that the established permitted use of Terminal 5 does not allow for this; both the Port and Foss have filed appeals to that contention – the one filed at the end of last week by the Port calls it “irrational” and suggests that, taken to its logical conclusion, it would bar a variety of other types of vessels from using Port docks. (No date yet on the Hearing Examiner’s calendar for the appeal hearing.) We’ll be seeking comment from all three recipients.

1:57 PM: The anti-Shell protest at Terminal 5 is wrapping up; demonstrators are walking back toward the low bridge to cross it on the way back to this morning’s starting point.

2:14 PM: The SDOT camera overlooking the low bridge showed the group as it crossed a few minutes ago:

TV helicopters are back overhead to capture the scene, but aren’t likely to stay nearly as long, since it’s not newscast time, unlike this morning.

2:47 PM: The bridge is open again and demonstrators are back at the starting point. We covered the morning march in our daily traffic watch; here are a few more photos from the day and video from the T-5 arrival:

As our images show, Seattle Police had a sizable presence at many spots along the way and near the demonstration; there’s been no word of any arrests. This was the line at the T-5 entrance just before the march arrived:

And here’s our video of their arrival:

This was the last of the major demonstrations/rallies announced before the Polar Pioneer‘s arrival last Thursday. At last report, it’s still scheduled to be joined at T-5 by Shell’s other drilling vessel, the drillship Noble Discoverer, which is docked in Everett. The city’s contention that the Port needs a different permit to host oil rigs, which has been formally appealed by both interim-leaseholder Foss Maritime and the port itself, remains unresolved.

“Irrational” is one word the Port of Seattle is using to describe the city Department of Planning and Development interpretation suggesting Shell oil rigs can’t use Terminal 5 without a new permit. That’s part of what the port argues in its official appeal of the interpretation, which we found in the city Hearing Examiner‘s files, hours after it was posted there late Friday:

The filing came 24 hours after Shell’s platform Polar Pioneer arrived at Terminal 5 – where it was photographed from the air on Friday by West Seattle photographer/pilot Long Bach Nguyen:

And it came three days after a 5-hour Port Commission meeting ended with two motions passed, the second of which directed port staff to file an appeal (WSB coverage here). The port tenant that’s hosting Shell, Foss Maritime, has already filed its appeal, as first reported here hours after that meeting. The verbiage in the port’s document is notably sharper, especially in its opening assertion that “the effect of the interpretation, if affirmed on appeal, will be to make unlawful the moorage of many different kinds of vessels, including … tugboats … marine-construction vessels … cruise vessels … icebreakers … ships of state … research vessels … diving vessels … oil-spill-response vessels … seismic vessels … Seattle Fire Department fireboats.”

The appeal later also suggests that since the port is a steward of its marine environment and that hosting many different types of vessels is a key component of that, the appeal could be environmentally damaging and therefore is subject to review under the State Environmental Policy Act. Appeals typically will go before the Hearing Examiner, but usually not for a few months until their filing; we’re not seeing a date on the docket yet. Meantime, the city told WSB on Wednesday that the appeal process wouldn’t keep it from citing the port if it chose to.

(Photo by Paul Weatherman)
The Shell drill rig Polar Pioneer has been at Terminal 5 in West Seattle for a day. What had been announced as a “Festival of Resistance” long before its arrival date was known is about to begin. Last night, “kayaktivists” trained in West Seattle waters one last time before the planned protests:

(WSB photo, Thursday night)
Here’s the timeline they have circulated:

SATURDAY
10 am-4:30 pm
Main event: Protest on the water – described by organizers as “Seattle residents, national environmental organizations and local grassroots groups will join a peaceful kayak flotilla in Elliot Bay to protest Shell’s Arctic drilling plans and its contribution to climate change.” Seacrest is listed as the main location for gathering, with later events at Jack Block Park per this timeline:

10 AM – Kayak Check-In and registration begins
11-12:30 Launch Boats
1 PM – On-water procession begins
2 PM – On-stage program begins at Jack Block Park: 2130 Harbor Ave SW
3:30 PM – On-stage program ends and all vessels return to launch sites.

Organizers say larger boats and canoes will launch from Don Armeni Boat Ramp, so that will be busy as well. The canoes will be part of an Idle No More Native-organized companion demonstration; its timeline is in this Facebook event.

(WSB photo, Thursday night)
SUNDAY
While this has been billed as a three-day “Festival of Resistance,” no specific events are announced so far for Sunday – good thing, considering the West Seattle 5K takes up the morning and Alki Avenue will be closed to vehicles.

MONDAY
7 am- ?
Protesters plan to gather by the fishing pier off the east end of the low bridge, and walk from there to “march to Shell’s rigs and nonviolently shut down operations for the day.” We asked the Port of Seattle earlier in the week about any changes it expected for the day. They told us today they had sent this notice to their tenants:

Please be informed that a protest is planned for 7am, Monday May 18, starting near the Spokane St. Fishing Bridge. Their intent, based on the event description, is to block access to our terminals. Both our police and SPD expect a large contingent of protestors. Impacts are expected to be significant. Please plan your morning accordingly. If you experience any problems, or feel you are in danger, please call 911. We are urging protesters to exercise their First Amendment rights peacefully, safely and legally in areas adjacent to our terminals.

Terminal 18’s operator, meantime, has decided to close for the day; SSA sent this notice out, according to the port:

TERMINAL 18 & MATSON – CLOSED ON MONDAY, MAY 18

We have been notified by local authorities that there will be significant protest activity in the area on Monday, May 18, 2015 related to Shell Oil Company and their activities at Terminal 5 in Seattle.

The Shell protesters have indicated that they intend to occupy Harbor Island as part of the protest. For the safety of our employees and all others who conduct business at T18 the decision has been made to close on Monday, May 18. We will reopen on Tuesday, May 19 at 0700.

We asked Seattle Police on Thursday if they had anything they want people to know regarding Saturday and Monday. Short answer, no, though they had a big briefing on Thursday morning. They intend to maintain their jurisdictions, SPD told us, and that includes the US Coast Guard enforcing “safety zones” on the water. We will of course be covering this as it happens, so if you’re not participating or spectating, at least check in to see what’s up down by the water.

(SCROLL DOWN for updates)

(Thanks again to Port Angeles Chamber of Commerce for permission to publish webcam images these past few weeks)
2:19 AM: As expected, the Shell oil drilling platform Polar Pioneer has left Port Angeles, headed for West Seattle’s Terminal 5, despite the city interpretation that it shouldn’t be docked there under terms of the Port of Seattle‘s current permit (previous update here). We noticed it on the move just after 1:30 am, via MarineTraffic.com, and just after 2 am, as shown in the screengrab above (in which PP is in the distance at right, the ferry Coho docked at left), the Port Angeles Chamber of Commerce webcam showed it heading eastward. Accompanying it right now, all at about 6 knots, are four Foss vessels (fleet info here): 106-foot Andrew Foss, 155-foot Garth Foss, 155-foot Lindsey Foss, and 98-foot Pacific Star. We’ll be updating as they approach. This chart we found puts T-5 about 70 nautical miles from Port Angeles.

SIDE NOTE: Almost exactly four years ago, all eyes were on another platform arriving in West Seattle waters, the SBX (Sea-Based X-Band Radar), which came in under its own power late May 10th, 2011, for work at Vigor. Polar Pioneer is considerably taller – 25 percent taller, we noted here last month.

7:33 AM: The Polar Pioneer and accompanying vessels are about to pass Port Townsend, at about 3.5 knots. That’s about halfway between here and where they started six hours ago.

9:09 AM: Thanks to Jason Mihok for sending the photo above, as the vessels passed PT. MarineTraffic.com now shows the USCG vessel Osprey right behind them.

NOON: Now three Coast Guard vessels are following the Polar Pioneer and the four Foss tugs; they’re now in the Kingston vicinity, per MT.

(UPDATED 3:33 PM, adding Foss statement on intent to appeal city DPD ‘interpretation’)

(Polar Pioneer in Port Angeles this afternoon; webcam image used with permission of PA Chamber of Commerce)
ORIGINAL REPORT, 12:24 PM: As reported here Thursday, the Port of Seattle Commission plans to discuss in public session on Tuesday what it will do about the city’s declaration that the port has to apply for a new permit to use West Seattle’s Terminal 5 for Shell’s offshore-Arctic-drilling vessels. The commission’s agenda for Tuesday meetings usually is posted by Thursday afternoon but didn’t appear on the port website until a short time ago. The T-5 lease situation is the only item on the 1 pm public agenda:

The city Department of Planning and Development’s “interpretation” of the need for a new permit was announced by the mayor on Monday; it was published on the city website yesterday, and our report also includes an open letter from Foss and local unions to the mayor, contending this action will be damaging to the city’s maritime industry. Meantime, the Polar Pioneer platform remains anchored in Port Angeles; the Noble Discoverer drillship is expected in Everett next week; and two Shell-related vessels, Aiviq and Harvey Champion, are at T-5 right now. And a Shell executive was quoted earlier this week as saying the city ruling wouldn’t impede their Arctic-drilling plan.

ADDED 3:33 PM: Foss Maritime has announced it plans to appeal the DPD interpretation, and that it intends to go ahead with bringing Shell’s oil rigs here during the time it takes to resolve the appeal:

Foss Maritime plans to appeal the city of Seattle’s determination that Foss’s use of the Port of Seattle’s Terminal 5 is not allowed under the Port’s existing use permit.

The appeal process will take months to complete. In the meantime, Foss intends to provide its customer, Royal Dutch Shell, the services for which it contracted over the next few weeks as it prepares for the summer oil exploration season in Alaska.

The city’s position is not supported by the plain language of the permit at issue, and will cause long-term harm to the maritime industry as a whole. The permit for Terminal 5 allows Port customers to tie up vessels so that goods and cargo can be stored, loaded and unloaded, which is precisely what Foss is doing at Terminal 5.

By taking this action so late in the day, Mayor Ed Murray is trying to stop a lawful project that has already put 417 people to work full-time and will soon employ hundreds more, many of them citizens of Seattle. Worse, he has openly solicited the Port of Seattle to use the city’s action as a pretext to break a valid lease at Terminal 5, despite the separately elected Port Commission’s recent unanimous vote to uphold the lease.

These actions are an attempt to prevent one of the city’s oldest and most prominent companies from performing marine services that it has provided and the Port has welcomed for generations. This action is akin to the mayor ordering Seattle City Light to cut off all electricity to Amazon on the Friday after Thanksgiving.

If his actions simply impacted Foss, that would be bad enough. But it jeopardizes many other business activities across the waterfront, and calls into question the sincerity of the mayor’s previous statements in support of the maritime sector.

For example, under the city’s initial determination, Alaska fishing trawlers would not be allowed to winter over at the cruise ship docks at Terminals 90 and 91; the Seattle Fire Department’s fire boats could not dock at Terminals 90 and 91 as they are currently doing; and the vessels of the U.S. Navy and other navies that visit during Seafair would not be allowed to tie up at Port facilities. Maritime businesses from Ballard to South Park are doubtless nervously checking their permits and wondering whether the mayor will deem them worthy.

Foss believes that the permitting at Terminal 5 is appropriate for our use, and that the city’s determination is a statement of politics rather than policy. Accordingly, we will challenge it through the appropriate channels. The process looks like this:

* Foss will appeal the determination to the Seattle Hearing Examiner within 14 days. Other interested parties, such as the Port, may join in the appeal.

* The hearing examiner will then set a hearing date on the matter.

* The hearing examiner would typically produce a ruling on the matter within 15 days after the hearing.

* Under normal circumstances, the city would not issue a violation to Foss or the Port of Seattle until and unless it prevailed in the hearing.

(UPDATED 11:52 AM: Added ‘open letter’ to mayor)

ORIGINAL REPORT, 5:48 AM: The latest developments in the Terminal 5/Foss/Shell situation:

INTERPRETATION OFFICIALLY PUBLISHED: Today’s city-circulated Land Use Information Bulletin will include official publication of the city Department of Planning and Development interpretation saying the Port of Seattle needs a new permit before Shell drilling vessels can come to T-5, announced earlier this week (read the interpretation in our Monday report). The notice offers a two-week period for appeals. Will the Port appeal, or apply for a permit, or … ? We’re checking. (Added 7:12 am: Port spokesperson Peter McGraw tells WSB, “The Commission will be taking the matter up in public session next Tuesday.” Agenda out later today.)

DRILLSHIP STATUS: As noted Monday, the interpretation said the drillship Noble Discoverer is not expected to moor at T-5.

(Photo of Noble Discoverer’s April 2012 Seattle arrival by Ilona Berzups)
But it is due in Everett next week, MyEverettNews.com reports. MEN quotes a Port of Everett spokesperson as saying “the Noble Discoverer is scheduled to make a brief stop in Everett next week to load/unload cargo.” And it’s now been revealed that while the ND was in Hawaii late last month, it had to make repairs to “the device that separates oil from the water in its bilges,” VICE News reported on Wednesday, quoting a US Coast Guard spokesperson. That part of the drillship also was implicated in the troubles that led to millions in fines after it left West Seattle and headed to the Arctic in 2012. VICE quotes a Shell spokesperson as saying this new development is nothing more than “mechanical repairs, which from time to time are required on any equipment.”

THE REST OF THE FLEET: The platform Polar Pioneer is still in Port Angeles; checking MarineTraffic.com while writing this story, Aiviq and Harvey Champion are currently docked at Terminal 5.

MAYOR’S DEFENSE: As we reported via Twitter while covering Mayor Murray’s Beacon Hill event announcing the revised transportation levy, he ended by turning to the T-5/Shell controversy. What he said seemed to be a response to the Foss statement on Monday; Murray contended that the city has been and continues to be an ally to the maritime industry and that this one “disagreement” shouldn’t “obscure” that.

ADDED 11:52 AM – OPEN LETTER TO MAYOR: This letter sent to the mayor takes issue with that:

11:46 AM: Just in from the city Department of Planning and Development, that’s the document we’ve been waiting to see, ever since hearing that Mayor Murray told a breakfast meeting this morning that the city would tell the Port of Seattle that new permits would be needed for Shell’s Arctic-drilling vessels to dock at West Seattle’s Terminal 5. We’re reading the document now but note one item of interest early on:

(Monday afternoon image courtesy Port Angeles Chamber of Commerce webcam)
The city says the port indicates only the drilling platform Polar Pioneer would be mooring here, with “two tugboats,” not the drillship Noble Discoverer as well, as had been previously believed.

The interpretation released today is the result of the city investigation announced almost two months ago. (Updated) The mayor has now released this statement:

To prevent the full force of climate change, it’s time to turn the page on things like coal trains, oil trains and oil drilling rigs. It’s time to focus on the economy of the future: electric cars and transit, green homes and environmentally progressive businesses. I expect the port to obtain all required city permits before any moorage or work begins at T5 on off-shore oil drilling equipment. While requiring a new permit may not stop the port’s plans, it does give the port an opportunity to pause and rethink this issue. I urge the port to consider, is this really the right use of Terminal 5, even for the short term? Does this use reflect the businesses of the future we want in Seattle? This is an opportunity for the port and all of us to make a bold statement about how oil companies contribute to climate change, oil spills and other environmental disasters – and reject this short-term lease.

The port has not yet commented; when we contacted spokesperson Peter McGraw earlier this morning, he replied, “We have not received the interpretation yet. When we do, we will review it and provide a response.”

Meantime, EarthJustice, leading a lawsuit that challenged the Port granting a lease to Foss Maritime for hosting Shell vessels, sent this statement:

Today, Mayor Ed Murray announced that the Seattle Department of Planning and Development’s investigation showed the Port of Seattle cannot use Terminal 5 as a homeport for Shell’s Arctic drilling fleet under its current permit. The Port is in violation of its twenty-year-old shoreline permit issued by the City.

On March 2 in King County Superior Court, Earthjustice filed a lawsuit on behalf of Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, The Sierra Club, Washington Environmental Council, and Seattle Audubon Society. That legal challenge details the Port’s circumvention of public process and violation of the State Environmental Policy Act. The City’s decision today is consistent with our argument that Shell’s use of Terminal 5 is a change from the Terminal’s historical use as a cargo terminal and requires environmental review and the issuance of new permits.

“We applaud the Mayor’s office and the City of Seattle for prioritizing this investigation and reaching a conclusion consistent with the law and the public’s interest in full participation,” said Earthjustice Managing Attorney Patti Goldman. “We urge the Port of Seattle’s commissioners to take the Mayor’s invitation to use this opportunity to reevaluate the Port’s priorities and to reject Shell’s use of Seattle’s waters as a homeport for its harmful Arctic drilling operations.”

As we’ve been reporting, Shell’s already had one vessel at Terminal 5, the icecutter Aiviq, which is there right now, (updated) as is another support ship, the Harvey Supporter. The Polar Pioneer has been in Port Angeles for two weeks (with this PA Chamber of Commerce webcam focused on it), being prepared for a tow here. We’ll be adding more as we read the DPD document and as other reaction comes in.

ADDED 1:13 PM: Foss says it’s carrying on, considering this “a dispute between the city and the port”:

Foss Maritime has a lease with the Port of Seattle to operate a portion of Terminal 5. During the negotiation of that lease, Foss had extensive discussions of its planned activities there, including the moorage of the Polar Pioneer and other vessels.

Port management agreed that those activities were allowed under Terminal 5’s existing permit, which was issued by the city in the 1990s, so Foss entered into the lease in good faith.

On Monday morning, Mayor Ed Murray suggested that the activity is not consistent with the permit. This is a dispute between the city and the port. Foss intends to continue work at Terminal 5 under our lease with the Port regardless of the mayor’s comments.

The Mayor’s action also raises grave concerns about his stated commitment to Seattle’s thriving maritime community. By giving a small but vocal group the ability to jeopardize the commercial relationships between our local maritime businesses and the Port of Seattle, the Mayor is casting serious doubt on the future of the city’s working waterfront.

ADDED 4:58 PM: The mayor has published something of a rebuttal to that last paragraph.