UNALASKA, Alaska — The hope is that it did not scrape bottom.
Initial signs are encouraging. The rig's crew says it felt no vibration when the vessel drifted to within 175 yards of shore. They also saw no evidence that its 100-foot-tall derrick had swayed.
At this hour, it's still not clear what the incident will do to Shell's plans for exploratory drilling in the Arctic Ocean this summer.
As of 9 P.M. Saturday, the Coast Guard said winds in Unalaska were still blowing at 35-miles-an-hour and seas were at 4 feet.
Those winds were not forecast to start dying down until sometime past midnight.
