Despite Port of Seattle vote, Shell says it will bring oil drill rigs to terminal here





SEATTLE (AP) — Despite a Port of Seattle Commission request that Royal Dutch Shell delay any moorage of oil exploration vessels in Seattle, a Shell spokesman says the firm will bring its drilling rigs to a terminal as planned.

Spokesman Curtis Smith said Tuesday that Shell has a short summertime window twork in the Arctic and believes its lease for space at Seattle's Terminal 5 is valid.

On Tuesday evening, a small group of activists in kayaks met one of two drill rigs Shell is planning to use as it arrived in Everett on its way to Seattle.

A second drill rig has been parked in Port Angeles, on the Olympic Peninsula, but is expected to arrive in Seattle later this week.