Officials say no sign drilling ship Kulluk, grounded off Alaska island, leaking fluids

Crews aboard two aircraft flew over an oil drilling ship Tuesday that went aground in a severe Alaska storm and saw no sign that the vessel was leaking fuel or that its hull had been breached. The Royal Dutch Shell drilling rig used this summer in the Arctic was aground off a small island near Kodiak Island, where the ship, the Kulluk, appeared stable, said federal on-scene response coordinator Capt. Paul Mehler. "There is no sign of a release of any product," Mehler said during a news conference at unified command center at an Anchorage hotel. When the storm eases and weather permits, the plan is to get marine experts onboard the Kulluk to take photos and videos, and then come up with a more complete salvage plan. The rig ran aground Monday on a sand and gravel shore off an uninhabited island in the Gulf of Alaska. Mehler said the Kulluk is carrying about 143,000 gallons of diesel and about 12,000 gallons of lube oil and hydraulic fluid...more