Unalaska, AK – The announcement by the Obama administration that Arctic drilling can proceed next summer will have a significant impact on Unalaska.

Though Unalaska is 1,300 miles from the Beaufort Sea, it's still the closest deepwater port to Shell's proposed well site. Currently, the Kulluk mobile drill rig is moored in Captain's Bay. It was brought here in late summer, and now Offshore Systems, Inc is building a dock that will make the Kulluk and other vessels that are part of Shell's spill response fleet more accessible and will make storing and maintaining equipment during the off-season easier.

Jim Butler is an information officer for OSI, and he explains what the construction involves.

"The project is an adaptation to existing facilities," says Butler. "There's fill-work going in and a bulwark that's being custom-built to accommodate the Kulluk. That work is underway, and it's anticipated that they'll be able to start moving Shell's equipment closer into those docks by mid-December."

The Alaska-based firm Nelson Engineering designed the plan, and work on the project began in earnest in September. OSI had already had permits for a 400 foot expansion of their dock facility and for fill from the Army Corps of Engineers before the project was initiated, so these permits were updated and approved again this fall. As the project is still in its construction phase, the overall cost has not yet been determined.

According to Shell spokesperson Curtis Smith, the Kulluk will remain in Captain's Bay until Shell's drill ship the Frontier Discoverer starts working on creating the well. Oil spill response vessels like the Nanuq will be deployed to the well site in July, before drilling begins.