At 6.30 am today, police boarded the ship MV Greenpeace, in Blyth Harbour, near Newcastle, and arrested six people including the ship's captain in connection with Greenpeace's campaign to stop oil exploration. Police have still not made it clear what the charge is against the Greenpeace volunteers.
The ship had been due to sail to Stockholm at 8am today as part of an international campaign to highlight chemical pollution in the Baltic Sea.
Greenpeace Executive Director Stephen Tindale said:
"I am responsible for the peaceful action we took to stop the two oil rigs in Scotland last week, and I am happy to talk to police at any time. Greenpeace occupied the oil rigs to stop criminal behaviour by the oil industry - drilling for oil that everyone knows will speed up global warming and result in the flooding of homes and the death of thousands of people from extreme weather."
"The police can lock up all the Greenpeace ships' crew, and all of our volunteers, but the issue won't go away - The oil industry is fuelling global warming and must be made to provide alternatives to petrol and diesel."
Notes to Editors:
On 1st April, Greenpeace volunteers stopped a JET oil rig for 30 hours from leaving Scotland's Cromarty Firth to drill in the North Sea. Five days later volunteers occupied an operating oil rig in BG's Blake field, in the North Sea, 55 nautical miles off the North East coast of Scotland.
Further information:
Contact:
Greenpeace Press Office on 020 7865 8255/6/7/8
