DIVE ADVISORY: - Alki Cove2 commercial operations..

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DIVE ADVISORY: Please do NOT make any plans for diving Alki Cove 1 or Alki Cove 2 on Monday, June 15th, 2015 between 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM. Commercial dive salvage operations are planned in the area.

As you may or may not know, on Monday, May 19th, 2015 an environmental activist group moored a barge known as the “People’s Platform” in Alki Seacrest Park to protest the Shell “Polar Pioneer” arctic drilling rig that is currently housed at Seattle’s Harbor Island Terminal 5.

In the process of mooring, the activist group dropped concrete blocks and thick steel mooring cables in Alki Cove 2. As the People’s Platform rose and fell with the tides, the steel mooring cables swept the area underneath causing extensive collateral damage to the marine environment. After the barge had been in place for several days, GUE Seattle sent survey divers to determine the extent of the damage that it had caused. The divers discovered that the steel mooring cables had wrapped around some of the pilings and features that function as homes for some of the dive park’s fish and wildlife. More damage was imminent and it became apparent that the barge would need to be moved safely out of the area as soon as possible.

GUE Seattle contacted the owners of the People’s Platform who were deeply concerned that mooring their barge caused damage to the underwater environment. Together, the owners of the barge and GUE Seattle began to form a plan to move the barge out of Alki Cove 2 without causing any additional damage. GUE Seattle’s suggestion was that we disconnect the steel mooring cables and simply drop them in place for later careful removal. As the cables were wrapped around some of the features of the dive park, pulling the blocks directly to the surface would have caused significant additional damage.

The owners of the People’s Platform moved the barge and left the cables in place as requested. Due to the careful planning before the move, the relocation caused no additional damage to the Alki Cove 2 dive park.

Soon after the move was complete, Washington State’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) determined that blocks and cables would need to be removed as soon as possible. The barge operators began to work on a plan to remove the debris.

GUE Seattle sent another team of divers to perform a second survey of the area. After a careful investigation and a review of video from the dive, it became clear that the only way to remove the mooring blocks and steel cables was with the assistance of commercial divers and salvage professionals. GUE Seattle contacted the owners of the People’s Platform to report our findings and make our recommendation.

After some discussion, GUE Seattle accepted the responsibility of coordinating the cleanup effort. We consider the collateral damage to be a direct result of the activists protesting Shell’s Polar Pioneer presence at Terminal 5 and we therefore feel that it is the responsibility of all parties involved to help fund this project.

GUE Seattle contacted Foss Maritime and Global Diving and Salvage in Seattle to assist in the cleanup. After a careful review of the survey data, we were able to create a debris removal plan. We submitted the plan to DNR who approved the work. The cleanup project is scheduled for Monday, June 15th, 2015 at 8:00 AM PDT.

GUE Seattle will have volunteers on shore during this time and we will also have support divers in the water immediately prior to the salvage operation.

We would like to caution local divers to please NOT make any plans for diving Alki Cove 1 or Alki Cove 2 on Monday, June 15th, 2015 between 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM.

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