The violations were discovered after the drilling season when the Noble Discoverer was in dock in Seward, Alaska. The other Arctic drill barge of Shell, Kulluk, is still in a sheltered bay off Alaska's Kodiak Island, where it was towed after she ran aground on New Year's Eve.
The USCG found sixteen violations on the 571-foot vessel Noble Discoverer after it finished drilling this summer in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska's northern coast.
The 16 violations included fire hazards and issues with the propulsion system that did not allow the vessel to operate at enough speed at sea to safely maneuver in all expected conditions.
USCG Rear Adm. Thomas Ostebo that oversees the operations at Alaska, recommended the investigation be forwarded to the US attorney's office, stated Lt. Veronica Colbath, spokesman of the USCG.
Messages that were left after business hours Friday with the Washington, D.C. Department of Justice, and the vessel's owner Noble Corp. in Sugar Land, Texas that leases the vessel to Shell, weren't immediately returned.