Greenpeace activists Tuesday occupied an oil drilling ship anchored off Shetland Isles to push for a ban on deepwater drilling in the North Sea. Two members used boats to reach the 228-metre Stena Carron and attached themselves to its anchor chain.
One of the Greenpeace protesters, Anais Schneider, said, "The Shetlands are so beautiful and an oil spill here could devastate this area and the North Sea. It's time to go beyond oil. Our addiction is harming the climate, the natural world and our chances of building a clean energy future."
Greenpeace insists that the UK should follow the US example and in the wake of BP's Gulf of Mexico oil spill impose a moratorium on deepwater drilling in European waters. Norway has already imposed some restrictions on deepwater drilling in the wake of the BP disaster and the UK oil and gas industry has been fighting hard to avoid similar measures in Britain.
Last month Greenpeace launched a high profile international campaign against deep sea drilling in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.
US oil giant Chevron, which operates the ship, accused Greenpeace of endangering lives and appealed to the group to immediately stop the protest. "Chevron North Sea is appealing to Greenpeace to immediately stop their actions at the Stena Carron while it is going about its lawful business in Bressay Sound. This kind of action is foolhardy and demonstrates that Greenpeace is willing to put its volunteers at risk to carry out such reckless publicity stunts, and we are concerned for the safety of those involved."
Earlier this month, Greenpeace activists climbed on to an oil rig operated by Scottish oil exploration group Cairn Energy off the coast of Greenland and halted drilling for more than a day.
