shell

The six climbers who safely intercepted, scaled, and set up camp on an Arctic-bound Shell oil drilling rig in the Pacific have come down after spending almost a week on the 38,000 tonne platform.

The multi-national team of volunteers abseiled off the rig and into inflatable boats, before returning to the Greenpeace ship Esperanza, which has been stationed close by for the last week.

In response to the injunction Shell has taken out this evening against Greenpeace USA, Annie Leonard, Greenpeace USA executive director, said:

“This injunction is Shell’s latest attempt to keep people from standing up for the Arctic. Shell thinks it can do whatever it wants, but there’s one thing the company still clearly fears--ordinary people standing up to save the Arctic.

“Shell wants activists off its rig. We want Shell out of the Arctic.

Six Greenpeace climbers have intercepted an Arctic-bound Shell oil rig in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, 750 miles north-west of Hawaii and have scaled the 38,000 tonne platform.

The multi-national team of volunteers will set up camp on the underside of the Polar Pioneer’s main deck. They have supplies to last for several days and are equipped with technology which will allow them to communicate with supporters around the world in real-time, despite being hundreds of miles from land.

In response to the US Department of Interior’s approval of Shell Oil’s Chukchi Sea drilling lease, Greenpeace Arctic campaigner Ian Duff said:

“It’s an indefensible decision. The Arctic is melting rapidly because of climate change. But instead of seeing it as a warning, Shell sees profit. It wants to drill for more of the stuff that caused the melting in the first place. And all the evidence shows Shell can’t drill safely in the Arctic. The extreme conditions means it’s when, not if, a spill will happen.

In response to Shell’s announcement it intends to drill in the Alaskan Arctic this year if it gets the right permits, Charlie Kronick, campaigner at Greenpeace said: