Protest on the high seas as activists intercept Arctic-bound ship

MORE than a dozen Greenpeace activists have intercepted a ship carrying Russian oil workers to a floating oil platform in Russia’s Arctic.

The conservation group said in a statement on Friday that 14 activists chained themselves to the anchor chain of the vessel which was carrying Gazprom’s workers to the Prirazlomnaya platform in the Pechora Sea.

Gazprom is pioneering 
Russia’s oil drilling in the Arctic.

The state-owned company installed the platform there last year and is preparing to drill the first well.

Environmentalists have warned that drilling in the Russian Arctic could have disastrous consequences for the environment. Critics say that there is a distinct lack of technology to deal with a possible spill in this remote region of the world.

Six Greenpeace activists on Friday spent several hours hanging off the side of the Prirazlomnaya, attached to the rig’s mooring lines.

The protesters including the organisation’s executive director, reached the Prirazlomnaya platform by speedboat early on Friday. They warned that they had enough supplies to last several days.