SEATTLE, June 9 (Reuters) - A group of protesters gatheredat the Port of Seattle on Tuesday seeking to block workersattempting to reach a Royal Dutch Shell drilling rigthat could depart this week to resume fossil fuel exploration inthe Arctic.
Over the past month, activists have staged demonstrationsagainst the oil company's plans to drill for oil in the Arctic,including on May 16 when hundreds of protesters in kayaks andsmall boats fanned out on a Seattle bay.
Several dozen protesters gathered early on Tuesday to blockentrances to Terminal 5 at the Port of Seattle where the rig isbeing outfitted for its trip north to the Chukchi Sea offAlaska. Shell did not immediately respond to an email seekingcomment on the protest.
There have been no arrests, Seattle police said.
Environmental groups say drilling in the icy Arctic region,where weather changes rapidly, could lead to a catastrophicspill.
They also say drilling would threaten the Arctic's vastlayer of sea ice that helps regulate the global temperature andwhich they say has already been disappearing as a result ofglobal warming.
The activist group ShellNo has helped organize a series of"rapid response" protests as Shell readies its drilling rig inSeattle, a city known for its support for environmental causes.
The group said on its website on Tuesday that the rig, thePolar Pioneer, could begin moving north as early as Wednesday.Neither Shell nor shipping company Foss Maritime has commentedpublicly on the schedule.
Activists say they want to get boats on the water as soon asthey learn the rig is leaving the terminal. A mandatory safetyzone enforced by the U.S. Coast Guard will keep watercraft atleast 100 yards away from the rig. The zone will expand to 500yards when it hits the broader Puget Sound on its way to Alaska.
On Monday, Seattle police dismantled but did not seize alarge tent used by demonstrators to organize the launch of aplanned rig-stopping flotilla, law-enforcement officials andactivists said.
Late last month, Alaska Governor Bill Walker toured the rig,saying Shell's resumption of drilling in the Arctic will bringjobs and money to his state. (Reporting by Victoria Cavaliere; Editing by Cynthia Johnston)
