On Thursday, October 11, 2012, the U.S. Coast Guard announced that it granted certification for the Arctic Challenger containment vessel.
“The ABS classification and recent Coast Guard certification of the Arctic Challenger containment barge is welcome news and means Shell will have the necessary assets in place to drill and evaluate hydrocarbon zones in 2013. Until then, we will continue to make the most of the time that remains in the 2012 open water season by drilling top hole sections on our prospects in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas,” said Pete Slaiby, VP Alaska .
ACS Receives Class Certification
Earlier in the week, the Arctic Challenger was issued its Class Certification by the American Bureau of Shipping. Classification is a certification applied to confirm that the vessel complies with requirements. Because the ACS is a first-of-its-kind system, Shell worked closely with the U.S. Coast Guard to define the standards that should apply.
[mappress]
Press Release, October 15, 2012