BREAKING – BP takes out injunction against Greenpeace ship heading for Scotland
Friday, 14 June – Oil giant BP has served an injunction on the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise in an attempt to prevent the ship joining the occupation of the company’s rig in Cromarty, Scotland.
Pictures of the Arctic Sunrise and the rig occupation here
The 949-tonne icebreaker ship is due to sail for Scotland to support the ongoing occupation of the rig by Greenpeace activists. Within two hours of the ship reaching Sunderland, representatives acting on behalf of BP issued papers to the crew of the ship seeking to prevent it from disrupting the transportation or operation of the oil rig.
BP has also taken out an injunction against another Greenpeace ship, the Esperanza, which happens to be in UK waters as part of a major campaign to protect the world’s oceans. In addition, they’ve also taken out an injunction against Greenpeace UK.
The six-day standoff has seen three separate teams of Greenpeace climbers prevent the 27,000-tonne platform reaching the Vorlich oil field where BP hopes to access 30 million barrels of oil. As of 3:30pm on Friday, two Greenpeace activists were still locked onto a gantry on one of the rig’s legs, surrounded by police officers attempting to remove them.
Greenpeace remains defiant vowing to sail on to Scotland to support the blockade of the BP rig.
Commenting on the injunction taken out by BP against the Arctic Sunrise, Greenpeace UK executive director John Sauven said:
“The Arctic Sunrise has a history of standing up to oil drillers in every corner of the world, from the Arctic to the Gulf of Mexico, where it documented the massive damage caused by BP’s Deepwater Horizon blowout. We won’t be cowed by the oil giant’s legal threats. BP is using every legal means available to stop us, and we’ll be using every peaceful means available to stop them. This is now the frontline of the climate emergency, and the very future of our living world is at stake. Allowing BP to carry on with business as usual is not an option. We won’t give up until BP has ditched fossil fuels and fully switched to renewables.”
ENDS
Greenpeace UK Press Office – press.uk@greenpeace.org or 020 7865 8255.