The Polar Pioneer is too big. That's why the Washington state Department of Natural Resources sent a letter to Shell today, asking how long the Polar Pioneer was planning on manspreading* in the West Waterway that empties into Elliott Bay.
The rig's already gotten in trouble with the city, which declared it didn't have a right to be in Terminal 5 under the port's existing land use permit. Now, the state's concerned about how much space the rig is taking up in the waters next to Terminal 5.
Those waters are managed by the state and they're supposed to be kept clear for public use. But the Polar Pioneer is fatter than the imaginary fence extending from Terminal 5.
The rig is blocking part of the public water highway, which would be okay if it was only temporary, explains the state:
"Generally, activities on state-owned aquatic lands that interfere with the use of those lands by the general public require authorization from DNR," the letter reads. "No authorization is required from DNR, however, for navigation over state owned aquatic lands. Accordingly, short-term use of the area adjacent to Terminal 5 incidental to navigation, such as temporary moorage for purposes of loading and unloading a vessel, would not create a need for a use authorization from DNR."
The rig, however, is meant to leave sometime in June.
So now the state wants to know exactly how long the Polar Pioneer's going to be there, and when it'll be coming back. We still don't know how long the state will put up with the Polar Pioneer mooring offensively, but the DNR has given Shell until June 1 to answer its questions.
Read the whole letter here.
*Drill ships are traditionally referred to as female. But why? The rig's actual proposed activity—drilling into the earth using something resembling a giant, sophisticated garden hose—is more phallic than vaginal. (Gender identity, however, is separate, so obviously the rig can identify however it chooses.) Still, Shell's patriarchal attitude about plundering the planet for oil reserves (Man has dominion over the land and the sea! Fuck you, everyone else!) is not particularly eco-feminist. I think we can justify "manspreading" here.
