Shell ready to begin drilling for oil in the Arctic

Safety vessel Fennica's arrival in the Chukchi Sea, after activists attempts to delay it, clears way for company to start drilling deep enough to hit oil

Shell is set to restart its controversial hunt for Arctic oil, three years after the company's last ill-fated venture north.

The Polar Pioneer rig began drilling on 30 July, but US safety standards have prevented the company from sinking a well deep enough to hit oil until a key safety vessel, an icebreaker called the Fennica, was in the Chukchi Sea.