Arctic Drill Ship Company Admitting to 8 Felonies

BY BECKY BOHRER
Associated Press

JUNEAU, Alaska — A company that operated a drill ship off Alaska’s Arctic coast has agreed to plead guilty to environmental and maritime crimes as part of a deal with prosecutors.

The agreement call for Noble Drilling U.S. LLC to plead guilty to eight felony counts and pay an $8.2 million fine, plus $4 million in community service payments.

The agreement and charges were made public Monday. The agreement still must be approved by a judge.

Noble operated the drill ship Noble Discoverer and the drill unit Kulluk in support of efforts by Royal Dutch Shell PLC to drill offshore.

According to the agreement, Noble Drilling’s violations included keeping false records about its handling of oil on the vessels, and did notifying the Coast Guard of hazardous conditions aboard the Noble Discoverer.