A group of 80 activists supported by the Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior
are attempting to stop Gazprom’s oil tanker Mikhail Ulyanov from
delivering the first ever oil from icy Arctic waters. This is the same oil 28
Greenpeace activists and two journalists were imprisoned in Russia for
protesting against last year. Six were British. They are calling for a ban on
offshore oil drilling in the Arctic and an urgent switch to new sources of
energy.
One group of activists has painted “No Arctic
Oil” in large letters on the hull of the “Mikhail Ulyanov” tanker, while other
activists in inflatables are trying to prevent the ship from mooring by putting
themselves between the quay wall and the tanker. Peter Willcox, who was
imprisoned in Russia, is the captain of the Rainbow Warrior today.
Activist Faiza Oulahsen from the Netherlands
was also one of those imprisoned. She spoke at the scene in Rotterdam harbor:
“Thirty of us went to prison for shining a
light on this dangerous Arctic oil, and we refuse to be intimidated. This
tanker is the first sign of a reckless new push to exploit the Arctic, a place
of incredible beauty which is melting before our eyes. I stand with five
million others against those who put short term profit above the common interests
of humanity.”
The 258 meter long tanker is carrying oil
from Gazprom’s Prirazlomanaya platform located in the Arctic Pechora
Sea.The controversial platform was the site of a high profile protest
last year which was met with fierce resistance from Russian authorities,
including the imprisonment of the 28 activists and two freelance journalists
for over two months. Six were British.
Greenpeace is calling for an end to offshore
Arctic oil drilling both in Russia and elsewhere in the world. The
environmental group has heavily criticised international companies like Shell,
BP and Statoil for their global Arctic ambitions as well as their joint
ventures with Russian energy firms.
Greenpeace International Executive director
Kumi Naidoo said:
“It’s increasingly clear that our reliance on
oil and gas is a major threat not just to the environment, but to global
security. Arctic oil represents a dangerous new form of dependence on Russia’s
state owned energy giants at the very moment when we should be breaking free of
their influence. We cannot hope for any kind of ethical foreign policy while
our governments remain hopelessly dependent on companies like BP, Shell and
Gazprom.”
Greenpeace’s Save the Arctic campaign has collected
over 5 million signatures including faith leaders, CEOs and Nobel peace prize
winners.
NOTES
A full briefing on the shipment and the Prirazlomnaya platform
is available at: http://www.greenpeace.org/international/Global/international/briefings/polar/2014/GazpromFirstArcticOilBriefing.pdf