In this image provided by the U.S. Coast Guard the conical drilling unit Kulluk sits grounded 40 miles southwest of Kodiak City, Thursday, Jan. 3, 2012. The Kulluk grounded after many efforts by tug vessel crews and Coast Guard crews to move the vessel to safe harbor during a winter storm.Calls for federal scrutiny of Royal Dutch Shell PLC drilling operations in Arctic waters swelled Thursday with a request for a formal investigation by members of Congress. (AP Photo/U.S. Coast Guard, Petty Officer 2nd Class Zachary Painter)
The Kulluk (CULL'-uck) was lifted off rocks at 10:10 p.m. Sunday.
It reached its anchoring point about 12 hours later in Kiliuda (kih-LOO'-dah) Bay, where it's out of the worst of waves and wind offered by the Gulf of Alaska.
Shell incident commander Sean Churchfield says the vessel came off the grounding relatively easy under tow by the 360-foot anchor handler Aiviq (EYE'-vick).
Salvors reported swells of 15 feet, which diminished after the vessels reached protected waters.
The trip covered about 45 nautical miles at about 4 mph.
The Kulluk was attached to a second vessel, a tugboat, after it reached the bay.
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