Shell is back in Unalaska and trying to be a good neighbor by not inconveniencing travelers at the local airport.
That's why Shell has a separate boarding and security area constructed to accommodate oil company passengers flying on chartered Ravn Alaska flights, according to Shell spokeswoman Megan Baldino.
The charter flights were put in place so Shell employees didn't take up too many seats on the daily Alaska Airlines flights, operated with small Pen Air commuter planes.
The walled-off area inside the airport terminal has been leased from the city, which owns the building, according to Unalaska Ports Director Peggy McGlaughlin. The security area is only a temporary structure and the walls will come down at the end of the summer drilling season, she said.
Most of Shell's oceangoing fleet will be anchored offshore while laying over in Unalaska/Dutch Harbor before departing to drill exploratory wells in the Arctic Ocean. But sometimes the vessels will use the city-owned Unalaska Marine Center and also the American President Lines' dock, McGlaughlin said.
Baldino said the Shell fleet includes two drill rigs and another 25 vessels for supplying the rigs and for oil spill response. The oil spill containment barge Arctic Challenger arrived in Unalaska on Sunday and was docked at Offshore Systems Inc., near another OSI dock that was specially built for the drill rig Kulluk.
The Kulluk ran aground on Dec. 31, 2012, near Kodiak, while being towed from Unalaska to Seattle. The rig was later shipped to China for demolition.
Before heading north to Alaska again, the Shell fleet was based in Seattle, where it was the focal point of Arctic drilling opposition from the mayor and activists in kayaks.
To keep environmental activists off the rigs, the Coast Guard is ready in Unalaska, with two fast patrol boats and 18 extra personnel between June 15 and July 15, according to Lt. Aaron Renschler, the group leader. The "RBS" vessels -- Response Boat Small -- will enforce safety zones around the oil fleet.