The Port of Seattle in a deal environmental groups take issue with, has leased part of Terminal 5, in West Seattle to Shell Oil for the storage and mooring of the Transocean Polar Pioneer. The rig, a semi submersible oil drilling platform capable of drilling to 25,000 feet in a water depth up to 1640 feet is currently in Norway but is headed to a moorage point at the north end of Terminal 5. It will arrive next month, according to a source close to Foss Maritime. Learn more about it here: http://www.deepwater.com/Documents/RigSpecs/Polar%20Pioneer.pdf

According to the same source, the rig will only be for a few weeks before heading to Alaska for the summer drilling season. It will return to Terminal 5 in the late fall and be stored here for next winter. It will head back to Alaska next summer to be put to work again.

Terminal 5 is currently not in use as funding is being sought to install the newer Panamax cranes, other support gear and deepen the eastern channel for larger ships.

The move is already prompting a protest set for April 5, beginning in the West Seattle Junction and marching to Terminal 5.

In a press release the march organizers said:

“We don’t want to support the idea of arctic drilling”.

The Port of Seattle’s decision to facilitate the Shell Oil Company and their desire to drill for oil in the arctic is a 180 degree position change from the port’s own environmental policy and the position of most of the tax payers that fund the Port of Seattle. The citizens concern over the secrecy of this deal as well as the change of use status from what the tax payers have funded terminal 5 for has prompted this action.

This March is sponsored by the Green Party of Seattle and is supported by Greenpeace, 350.org, Backbone, West Seattle Meaningful Movies and the citizens of West Seattle. Speakers from the Green Party, Sustainable West Seattle and 350.org will address the crowd as they gather at the entrance of West Seattle’s Terminal 5.

The march will follow the monthly “All Walk Encouragement Rally” on Easter Sunday, April 5th which takes place from noon to 1pm in the West Seattle Alaska Junction. The next meeting about this march will be at the West Seattle Meaningful Movies on Saturday April 4th, 6:30 pm at the Highpoint Neighborhood House, 6400 Sylvan Way, in the Highpoint Neighborhood.

The march is a 1.5 mile mostly downhill route to Terminal 5 using sidewalks and obeying pedestrian traffic laws. The route can be found here.