Five police officers have boarded the Shell oil ship where actress Lucy Lawless and a group of Greenpeace protesters are refusing to budge.
Activists will not leave the Shell drilling ship Noble Discoverer until they are forced to, a Greenpeace spokesperson says.
Nathan Argent said the protesters had blocked access to their position on the ship’s derrick so police could not apprehend them.
Earlier today five police officers boarded the ship and told the protesters they were under arrest, Argent said.
But the activists, including actress Lucy Lawless, told police they had a moral obligation to stay, Argent said.
Protesters climbed aboard the Noble Discoverer about 7am in an attempt to stop it from sailing to the Arctic.
One Greenpeace activist told the Taranaki Daily News the protesters planned to stay on board long enough to stop the ship sailing.
“The guys are well equipped and have enough food to last a couple of days and gear to protect them from the weather,” he said.
“We don’t plan to leave until Shell agrees to stay out of the Arctic.”
He said the protesters are being supported by other Greenpeace members in New Plymouth at an undisclosed location.
Meanwhile, police cars continue to patrol near the port.
One person has been arrested after Greenpeace protesters, boarded the Shell drilling ship bound for the Arctic.
Police confirmed that a man, who was not onboard the ship, had been taken into custody after being arrested at the port gates.
Access to Port Taranaki is being controlled but the port itself remains open, a police spokeswoman said.
Inspector Blair Telford said the protesters were clearly breaking the law by trespassing on the ship.
“We are currently liaising with the Port of Taranaki and the Harbour Master to decide the most appropriate course of action. Public safety is paramount,” Telford said.
Shell spokeswoman Shona Geary said they were disappointed Greenpeace has chosen this method to protest.
“Actions such as this jeopardize the safety of everyone involved. While we respect the right of individuals to express their point of view, the priority should be the safety of Noble Discoverer’s personnel and that of the protesters,” she said.
The Noble Discoverer was due to depart on a 6,000 nautical mile journey to drill three exploratory oil wells in the Chukchi Sea off the coast of Alaska, Greenpeace said.
Lawless and the others had scaled its 53-metre drilling tower and were hanging banners from its summit, reading “Stop Shell” and “SaveTheArctic”.
The Xena star, who has long campaigned for environmental issues, said she was taking part on “behalf of the planet and her children”.
“Deep-sea oil drilling is bad enough, but venturing into the Arctic, one of the most magical places on the planet, is going too far.
“I don’t want my kids to grow up in a world without these extraordinary places intact or where we ruin the habitat of polar bears for the last drops of oil,” Lawless said.
Greenpeace New Zealand Climate campaigner Steve Abel said an oil spill would devastate the Arctic.
“There is no more striking an emblem of the madness of oil expansion than the struggle for the Arctic.”
(Source: stuff.co.nz)
