Greenpeace USA | What we do | Contact us | Donate
THE WITNESS
Intrepid polar bears from Greenpeace visited Gazprom’s Moscow headquarters.
Early this morning, a team of intrepid polar bears from Greenpeace visited Gazprom’s flashy headquarters in Moscow. At the same time, activists from Greenpeace in Germany set up a leaking oil derrick outside the Gazprom offices in Berlin. Continue reading
When I spoke to my friends and family this weekend I was unanimously scolded. After Friday’s 15-hour occupation of Gazprom’s Prirazlomnaya oil platform in the Pechora Sea, they all said “you’re getting too old for this!” With blue hands and feet from the cold, and in the midst of being treated by our ship doctor Marcelo for hypothermia, for a moment I thought they could be right.
But then I returned to the spirit on board our ship the Arctic Sunrise; the eager faces of my fellow activists Sini, Jens, Lars, Basil and Terry, the determination of our Captain Vlad, and the rest of the committed crew who were standing up for what they believed was right. Coming back to this I knew that the risks had been worth it.
For me, an action like the one we’ve just completed in the Arctic is Greenpeace at its best. Teams united in the one goal, taking a risk to confront dangerous industry at the frontlines of destruction, shining a light on an environmental crime that happens out of the sights and minds of most regular people.
I’ve been an activist since the age of 15. I’ve seen the inside of a prison cell for the cause, but nobody – even with experience – can honestly say that there is no fear when you set out to take action involving risk to personal safety, or the risk of imprisonment. We were feeling it acutely in the days preceding the action as we traced through our different scenarios and plans. But I felt encouraged, we gave each other confidence.
And then our time came. We sailed early morning towards Gazprom’s oil platform, and soon some of my worst fears came true. During my first attempt to climb, I got knocked off course by a big swell and did not make it up. I spent several minutes in the icy water fighting with the rope. Defeated and fighting the cold, I had to retreat to the boat. Continue reading
This message was sent by our campaigner Dima Litvinov who is on-board the Arctic Sunrise in the Pechora Sea…
“Root out the black shame from your heart, calmly and indifferently, I covered my ears with my hands” A. Akhamtova
Anna Akhamtova is a famous Russian poet, and the name of the ship we were stopping today.
After a rather quiet and calm weekend we decided to pay Gazprom another visit again this morning.
Here is a quick drawing of how the platform is organized in its day-to-day life: half of the work force does not sleep on board. They live on a chartered passenger ship, the Anna Akhmatova, which is anchored near the Prirazlomnaya. Every morning at around 5AM this ship heaves anchor and backs up to the platform, where its tied up by mooring lines. A sleepy mass of morning-grumpy welders, fitters marches on board for a day of work. In the evening this process is reversed and they all go back to their “home”.
At around 3.30 this morning, two boats from the Arctic Sunrise went to the Anna Akhmatova. One of them, carrying four activists including our Executive Director Kumi Naidoo, chained to the ship’s anchor line, effectively making it unable to move. It took them a while but pretty soon the platform realized what happened and what it meant. At first they were a bit blasé and the Anna tried to move her anchor: they tried raising the anchor a bit (boat gets a bit vertical, activists stay in) and they then tried to lower it a bit (the boat gets filled with water, the activists stay in). To no avail. Continue reading
A short while ago, seven Greenpeace International activists, including Executive Director Kumi Naidoo, headed toward Gazprom’s giant drilling platform in the Russian Arctic for the second time in three days. The activists, in two high-speed boats, intercepted a supply vessel as it prepared to drop off the workers to the oil platform.
Why we are doing this | Help: Sign the Save the Arctic petition
Last updates :
We’ve stopped them for 7 hours and counting..
Our tiny boat is facing massive ship with huge water cannons. One of our RIB attached to the anchor has been flipped by hoses… Activists were in the water. They are now safe, and well, in another boat. Action is going on as another team is moving into position … stay tuned !
Kumi’s boat is now attached to anchor chain of this vessel – it’s not moving anywhere and so the platform workers can’t get on-board, effectively stopping its preparations to drill for oil in the Arctic.
A Russian Coast Guard vessel is nearby, and presumably assessing the situation.
A second load of activists have been brought to the scene – now 14 in total.
From Greenpeace International:
This evening, 15 hours after boarding Gazprom’s Arctic oil platform in the Pechora Sea, six Greenpeace International activists including Greenpeace International executive director Kumi Naidoo voluntarily left the platform. In freezing temperatures, the climbers were constantly hosed with water by Gazprom workers who appeared more intent on endangering the safety of peaceful activists than operating the platform above.To avoid unnecessary risk in these freezing Arctic conditions the activists have decided to come down. The same cannot be said of Gazprom, which appears determined to continue its reckless drilling programme in one of the most fragile places on earth. The bravery of all of these climbers interrupted a major Arctic oil operation and by doing so brought the world’s attention to this era defining issue. This occupation was just one part of a new movement to save the Arctic that will not be intimidated by water cannons or other forms of corporate brutality.
Listen below to what this action means to Greenpeace activist Basil Tsimoyianis and join us now to save the Arctic!
Blogpost by Juliette H
The Arctic Council is meeting in Stockholm today, and government representatives will discuss the sustainability – or not – of Arctic oil.
We received this video yesterday from our colleagues in Russia who have just returned from a trip to the West Siberian oil fields operated by Gazprom and Rosneft to expose the true impact of oil in the Arctic.