July 7 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell Plc's icebreaker vessel Fennica returned to the Dutch Harbor in Alaskawith a small breech in the hull, raising concerns about thecompany's plan to resume drilling in the Arctic later thismonth.
Shell said in June it plans to restart drilling for oil inthe Arctic off Alaska as early as the third week of July after aconditional approval by the United States.
"Any impact to our season will ultimately depend on theextent of the repair," spokeswoman Kelly op de Weegh said in ane-mail to Reuters.
Fennica, owned by Arctia Offshore, is one of the primary icemanagement vessels in the Port of Helsinki during Europeanwinter.
Shell was given a conditional approval by the U.S.Department of the Interior in May to return to the Arctic forthe first time since its mishap-plagued 2012 drilling season. (Reporting by Sneha Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by DonSebastian)