PORT ANGELES: Local companies benefitted greatly from a relatively short period of time. During their brief stay in Port Angeles, crew members attached to the Polar Pioneer funneled their dollars into the local economy
Ken O’Hollaren, Port of Port Angeles executive director, said Monday during the Chamber Luncheon at Red Lion Inn. If the rig comes back, it will be welcomed by port officials, he said. The 355 foot tall oil rig was at anchor in Port Angeles Harbor from April 17 to May 14.
The Polar Pioneer is one of two oil rigs being leased from Transocean by Royal Dutch Shell, the parent company of Shell Oil Co., and is being towed to the Chukchi Sea off Alaska’s northern shore where it is scheduled to begin exploratory drilling this month
The second rig, the Noble Discoverer, did not stop here. O’Hollaren said it wouldn’t surprise him if data shows the vessel helped generate more than $1 million for the local economy