"At least we aren't BP"
July 16, 2012 3:06 PM Subscribe
In light of today's news that one of two Shell ships slated to drill exploratory oil wells in the Arctic waters of Alaska's Chukchi and Beaufort Seas had slipped its moorings and was headed towards Dutch Harbor, in Alaska's Aleutian Islands... check out a collaboration between the Yes Men and Greenpeace that's been online since June: arcticready.com (Twitter) -- an elaborate site spoofing Royal Dutch Shell Plc, who have uh... promised not to sue.
The ad campaign is awesome and I was pretty much taken in by it due to other companies' social media blunders. I first saw it here, and it's only revealed in the small print at the bottom.
posted by desjardins at 3:27 PM on July 16, 2012
posted by desjardins at 3:27 PM on July 16, 2012
I was fooled by it. It's a great parody of other clueless social media miscalculations. This is how smart people win.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 3:28 PM on July 16, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Potomac Avenue at 3:28 PM on July 16, 2012 [1 favorite]
Yeah, I was fooled as well.
posted by brundlefly at 3:39 PM on July 16, 2012
posted by brundlefly at 3:39 PM on July 16, 2012
Seems like this post could do with a link to the #ShellFAIL viral video that Greenpeace and the Yes Men made for the launch of the Arctic Ready campaign (which fooled a number of media outlets on first release).
posted by gompa at 3:59 PM on July 16, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by gompa at 3:59 PM on July 16, 2012 [1 favorite]
So was the picture and text of the Shell explorer ship running aground today a spoof?
http://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Shell-Drill-Ship-Slips-Anchor-and-Runs-Aground-in-the-Arctic-No-Damage-Reported.html
Because if it was - well done Yes Men!
posted by rough ashlar at 6:10 PM on July 16, 2012
http://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Shell-Drill-Ship-Slips-Anchor-and-Runs-Aground-in-the-Arctic-No-Damage-Reported.html
Because if it was - well done Yes Men!
posted by rough ashlar at 6:10 PM on July 16, 2012
Climate denialism is a sophisticated orchestrated PR war. The Yes Man look like amateurs next to them, just kids playing games.
posted by stbalbach at 7:22 PM on July 16, 2012
posted by stbalbach at 7:22 PM on July 16, 2012
It's not a Shell drillship, it's chartered by Shell from US-based Noble Corp, and build in New Orleans. You can direct your ire there.
Ships slip their mooring all the time. No one was hurt, there was no danger, no damage, it did not run around, and the marine conditions around the islands are completely different from how a drillship will anchor in deep waters.
Yes, this drilling will be difficult and potentially dangerous, but this incident ranks highly in the non-story stakes.
That said, I do like the Yes Men's website.
posted by Mezentian at 7:43 PM on July 16, 2012
Ships slip their mooring all the time. No one was hurt, there was no danger, no damage, it did not run around, and the marine conditions around the islands are completely different from how a drillship will anchor in deep waters.
Yes, this drilling will be difficult and potentially dangerous, but this incident ranks highly in the non-story stakes.
That said, I do like the Yes Men's website.
posted by Mezentian at 7:43 PM on July 16, 2012
Ships slip their mooring all the time.
Only the most incompetently handled ones if unintentional. Intentionally doing so is another matter.
The difference between anchoring and mooring is that mooring is done to a permanent structure, and if that is moving, something is very wrong indeed.
Anchors, however, can and do slip, which is why you have a watch standing while at anchor, in case you do start slipping, you can do something about it. At moor, you can have a caretaker watch -- or, in many cases, no watch at all.
posted by eriko at 8:11 PM on July 16, 2012
Only the most incompetently handled ones if unintentional. Intentionally doing so is another matter.
The difference between anchoring and mooring is that mooring is done to a permanent structure, and if that is moving, something is very wrong indeed.
Anchors, however, can and do slip, which is why you have a watch standing while at anchor, in case you do start slipping, you can do something about it. At moor, you can have a caretaker watch -- or, in many cases, no watch at all.
posted by eriko at 8:11 PM on July 16, 2012
Huh. I saw the Noble Discoverer making its way up Puget Sound a couple weeks ago. A blog for my neighborhood had the story of a Greenpeace boat following the Noble Discoverer on its way out of Seattle. Looks like the Greenpeace folks will have something to report after all.
posted by samw at 10:42 PM on July 16, 2012
posted by samw at 10:42 PM on July 16, 2012
It seems to have run aground in a soft bottom near the shore. Having seen some photos of it, it is pretty clear that the ship, about 15 yards from a gently sloping shoreline, didn't just come close to shore and then stop, like the company has said. The problem people have with this expedition isn't related to it having a freak accident like this, it's the belief that they don't have spill procedures in place that will handle the crazy weather conditions out there. Personally, when a business doesn't have proper procedures in place to handle keeping their ship safe at anchor and then feel the need to lie about it, I'm not so sure about their assertions that they are ready for the Bering Sea.
posted by Foam Pants at 11:25 PM on July 16, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by Foam Pants at 11:25 PM on July 16, 2012 [3 favorites]
Polar Bear Makes Appearance at London Protest Against Arctic Drilling
posted by homunculus at 9:35 AM on July 18, 2012
posted by homunculus at 9:35 AM on July 18, 2012
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posted by rtha at 3:12 PM on July 16, 2012 [3 favorites]