Greenpeace Activists Occupy Oil Rig In Norwegian Arctic

A team of Greenpeace International activists head towards the Statoil contracted oil rig Transocean Spitsbergen to protest the company’s plans to drill the northernmost well in the Norwegian Arctic at the Apollo Prospect of the Barents Sea on Monday, May 27 2014. Image: Greenpeace

A group of fifteen Greenpeace activists from eight different countries boarded and climbed an oil rig in the Norwegian arctic Monday morning, protesting a Norwegian company’s plans to drill there.

The activists, who were in the area on the Greenpeace ship the MV Esperanza in the Barents Sea approximately 190 miles north of Norway, made the decision to board the drilling rig Transocean Spitsbergen, which was en route to the Hoop area in the Barents Sea, after learning that the Norwegian government had reversed an earlier decision blocking drilling in the region.

Greenpeace says the drilling site, the most northernmost well in the Norwegian Arctic, is too close to the Bear Island nature reserve — and an oil spill would devastate the island’s unique and unspoiled habitat.

Greenpeace’s message: Pull out.

“The activists want to save this pristine and harsh environment from oil spills,” Juha Aromaa, communications lead for Greenpeace Arctic Ship Tour tells Mashable. “They want to stop climate change that the burning of oil is causing. They have a clear message to the Norwegian Minister of Environment Tine Sundtoft; she must stop Statoil’s Arctic drilling plans.”

Sune Scheller, an activist on board the Esperanza, tells Mashable that one of the greatest challenges with Arctic drilling is the long distance to any infrastructure that would be necessary in the event of a spill. “Dangerous oil spills happen all the time,” he says, “but when we are talking about the Arctic it is a whole different manner.”

And so, they occupy.

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  The operation began at 5 a.m. Monday morning when three teams of climbers took a smaller boat from the Esperanza and boarded the rig.

  Image: Greenpeace

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  The activists scaled the rig’s walls using ropes and climbing harnesses, being careful not to fall into the cold water beneath them.

  Image: Greenpeace

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  The climbers split into three teams and approached the rig from different sides.

  Image: Greenpeace

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  The climbers get comfortable on a platform suspended by ropes hanging from the rig. They’ll stay as long as the weather holds out.

  Image: Greenpeace

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  Once they reached its top they unveiled banners protesting oil drilling in the Arctic. This one says, “Stop Statoil’s Arctic Race.”

  Image: Greenpeace

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  A humpback whale photobombs a shot of the activists on the rig, surfacing for air between near the MV Esperanza.

  Image: Greenpeace

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Statoil, in a statement posted on its website, says it “respects the right for legal protests and believes it is important with a democratic debate on the oil and industry,” but called the protest illegal and irresponsible and raised concern for the safety of activists.

“We are concerned for the safety of the demonstrators who have made their way on board, and for the crew,” the statement said.

“Several activists are now suspended by ropes underneath the rig, above the open sea and above the thrusters that must be kept running at all times to keep the rig in position. The weather is cold in the area, with temperatures around zero degrees Celsius. If the demonstrators were to fall down, their life and health would be at serious risk. Some of the activists are also carrying heavy equipment that could lead to drowning.”

There is a dialogue going on between the crew onboard the rig and the activists, the company said, though Scheller told Mashable those talks have since broken down.

Statoil rig just called us asking about our intentions. We told them we’re in it for the long haul #occupyarcticoil http://t.co/oZcd8iCxbP

— Greenpeace Esperanza (@gp_espy) May 27, 2014

“They would like us to go away, and we responded that we would like them to stop Arctic oil drilling,” he said of the sticking point between the two parties. With blue skies, calm seas and sunlight 24 hours per day, Scheller says the activists plan on staying as long as the weather holds out.

There is a Norwegian Coast Guard ship nearby, Scheller says, “but they are being very passive, they seem to be observing the situation” and have not made contact with the Esperanza.

Coast guard have arrived but are holding back. #NoArcticOil pic.twitter.com/kMxdjKbxRM

— Greenpeace Esperanza (@gp_espy) May 27, 2014

You can follow the action on Twitter at the hashtag #OccupyArcticOil. Greenpeace’s petition asking the oil company’s biggest shareholder, the Norwegian government, “to stop these reckless plans before it’s too late” had 61,000 signatures at time of writing.