No one really knows what the weather and wave conditions will be when Shell Oil’s first Arctic drilling rig arrives in Seattle later this month. That’s why activists are training now for rapid-response kayaks at any hour and a mass demonstration on the water. It’ll be a lot different than the typical landlocked march. In addition to the need to communicate and deliver their message, they potentially face the challenge of navigating around an enormous ship with a limited ability to stop. Get too close to the ship’s propeller stream (“propwash”), and kayakers might get sucked into the frigid water. Get in the way of a ship’s momentum, and kayakers might topple and drown.
By creating a mass of floating protesters, activists are figuratively positioning themselves against the momentum of decisions made behind closed doors.
