Beaufort Sea, Alaska, 3pm local time - Five Greenpeace activists were today arrested by Alaska State Troopers while occupying a barge working for BP in the Arctic Ocean. The 130-metre barge carrying a control centre and accommodation module was en-route to BP's controversial Northstar oil installation. The five Greenpeace activists, three from the UK and two from the US, had occupied the barge for 39 hours.
Melanie Duchin, climate campaigner, speaking from the Greenpeace ship the MV Arctic Sunrise said, 'We occupied the barge for 39 hours, which is a small reprieve for the climate. Our campaign to stop Northstar goes on, as does our work to force BP to fulfill its green image by halting new oil drilling in the Arctic Ocean and reinvesting the savings into funding the solar revolution. Anything less than that is simply hot air, and will continue to fuel climate change in the Arctic and around the world.'
This non-violent direct action follows years of campaigning by Greenpeace to halt BP's Northstar oil development project. Most recently, Greenpeace sponsored a resolution supported by 13 percent of BP's shareholders calling on the company to cancel Northstar and divert the savings toward funding solar power. Greenpeace maintained a camp on the frozen Arctic Ocean for two months this past winter to protest against Northstar construction. Lawsuits are pending in U.S. federal and Alaska State courts, challenging the project on a number of significant issues including water use, oil spills and the cumulative impact of offshore oil on the climate and ecology of the Alaskan Arctic.
Notes to editors:
The arrested activists are Matteo Williford, 28, North Carolina, US, Kimberely Medeiros, 25, Massachusetts, US, Stephanie Tunmore, 45, North London, UK, Stan Vincent, 37, Templecombe, Somerset, UK, Kevin Benn, 39, Frampton on Severn, Gloucestershire, UK
