Seattle activists opposed to Arctic drilling have vowed to launch a kayak blockade to prevent the departure of Shell’s drilling rig , and said they have hundreds of protesters standing to hit the water as soon as the Polar Pioneer departs. “Our effort is to create as large a flotilla as we can to make it impossible for them to get permission to leave,” Bill Moyer, executive director of the Backbone Campaign, an environmental justice organization, told Al Jazeera on Wednesday. Although Shell has not announced a departure date, activists with ShellNo said on its website that the rig could leave for Alaskan waters as early as Wednesday. There it will drill exploratory wells approved by the U.S. government last month. ”Work continues as planned in preparation for the Polar Pioneer’s departure to Alaska,” Shell spokesman Curtis Smith said in an email. “The rig and its crew will depart […]