We've stopped Cairn's Arctic drilling

Posted by jamess - 31 August 2010 at 9:35am - Comments

This morning, before dawn, our activists evaded a massive security operation and scaled Cairn Energy's controversial rig off Greenland. We've stopped their drilling.

After dodging Danish Navy commandos in our inflatable speedboats, our activists climbed up the inside of the rig and are now hanging from tents suspended from ropes.

We'll get more news to you as soon as we have it, but for live updates go to www.gobeyondoil.org

Thanks for your support,

Lisa Vickers - on board the Esperanza

Article tagged as: arctic, cairn, climate change, esperanza, go beyond oil, greenland, oil, oil drilling

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I think they would have had to stop drilling with the climbers onboard. Any other thoughts from drilling people?

Being Dynamically Positioned (DP) both rigs would need thrusters continually operating while the riser is connected to the BOP stack. Obviously I don't know what operation they were on at the time, but I would have thought that it would be irresponsible to have DP up and running with the possibility that someone might fall into the water.

I believe that the OIM would treat the threat to life, whether that of the protesters or of a Stena crew member, the same.

By tommc - 1 September 2010 at 5:58pm

You are correct about the vessels being DP and the thrusters run continuously in order for station keeping as soon as the rigs are on location. People work over the side all the time on these vessels and i can assure you they dont stop the thrusters in order for work to commence as this defeats the purpose of DP as the rig would drift off location and the riser would disconnect so sorry you are wrong there.
People under the rig would have no influence at all on the operation on the Don.
If i was the OIM i would authorise the cutting of there ropes and let everyone watch from above as they fell into the arctic and froze. It would be a harsh lesson for there stupidity and endangering the lives of the rig workers who are only out there earning a living for there families back home!!
CUT THE ROPES!!!

By topperharley - 2 September 2010 at 4:25am

I believe no Navy Commandos were pressent on scene at the time of the "attack".
That fact made it pretty easy to get by the "massive security" and on to the rig.
No credits from here...

By CHS - 31 August 2010 at 10:21am

Try to live one day in the green philosophy in its broadest concept in Greenland.
The house, the hotel have electricity from hydropower plants; borrow a car with electricity make by electricity from hydroelectric plants. Borrow a rowing boat and fish or catch animals that live their whole lives out in the extremely beautiful nature in Greenland. No animals in iron cages, pumped up with drugs.
Their are experiment with new and alternative arctic houses in high scientific level, of course, with solar energy.
Over 75% use of green hydro power plants in Greenland (including these hydro plants under construction), while there beginning efforts for hydrogen production from excess hydroelectricity, two provide green energy to the remote areas with no hydro plants. Hydroelectric plants in Greenland is provide from melt water from the icecap and huge lakes from there and there are no swamp land. We also see Greenland experimenting with solar and wind energy too. Greenland is like Norway and Iceland Pioneers two develop green energy in huge and large scale. Greenda administration and demokrazy is on the same level of Skandinavien..
Go out and tell the rest of the world of Greenland efforts in Greenpeace main goal. This will help
inspires the world to do the same and go further away in what world have in its veins today: Black oil.
At the same time, Greenland is one of the new countries to preserve supply of raw minerals (mine activity) to the large foreign countries, so Greenland has great knowledge of global aspects. And hunt of natural born fish and animals is use. Not born and raised in cage, but lived in the beauty of nature.
And finally; the icecap of Greenland has always melted in all times. Freeze at winter, melted at summer. No sensation in that. Large and very huge iceberg has broken off as long as there has been ice in Greenland.

By Knud Seblon - 31 August 2010 at 11:24am

Get a grip Greenpeace. You have very little support and very little respect in your ill-informed opinions. Leave the hard working rig crew alone and go back to growing lentils. You are no better than the Religious Fundamentalist who want to return us to the dark ages.

By Conserve Lentils Ban Greenpeace - 31 August 2010 at 11:34am

The 'commandoes' are on the Warship sent by the Danes. Well done GP for ignoring the silly macho posturing of the commando-boys and their 'man-o-war'.

In my opinion the SBS-style hard men need to grow up - just like the rest of us humankind.

No doubt we'll be seeing more of this kind of silliness over the next few hours as (in this case) the Danish armed forces try to justify thier existence.

Swaggering round eye-balling the world like bolshy adolescents won't fix climate change, or help us all come down from our petroleum addiction.

By Richard F - 31 August 2010 at 11:39am

The above post is a wonderful example of the kind of macho silliness I was talking about. Thank you - QED.

By Richard F - 31 August 2010 at 11:41am

Drilling is a hazardous operation but can be conducted safely, as demonstrated by the thousands of safe, secure, non-polluting wells all over the world.

It can also go wrong as demonstrated by the Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico.

The drilling rigs in Greenland are the most technically advanced in the world and have a flawless safety record - it was for this reason that they were secured by Cairn Energy and they were passed fit for use by the Greenland Government.

The operations in these waters are constantly assessed for safety under some of the strictest controls ever enforced on a drilling operation. The drilling in Greenland has the full legal permission of the Greenland Government and is fully supported by the people of Greenland – this was clearly demonstrated by Greenpeace's failed attempt to drum up support at it's disastrous meetings in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital.

The drilling rigs crew will now have their concentration interrupted by these clowns that have tied themselves to the rig. Instead of being able to concentrate on the job they are trained to do they will now have to ensure that these Greenpeace idiots do not injure themselves.

The actions of Greenpeace in Greenland are irresponsible and should be stopped immediately. Any protests should be carried out by legal process not by endangering the rigs crew and the environment.

Stop this reckless action immediately; Greenpeace does not have the right to put lives and the environment at risk just to satisfy its insatiable, unhealthy appetite for publicity.

By realitycheck121 - 31 August 2010 at 12:44pm

Breaking at least two maritime laws and endangering the lives of everyone involved.

Not to mention the hierocracy of using an old diesel powered boat a frigging helicopter and RIB's all powered by diesel. Safety equipment and tents etc all made of plastic from hydro- carbons.

Your radical actions discredit the green movement and undermine the legitimacy of the cause.

Do you care to publish just how much of this operation is costing the membership, whether or not the crew and activists are being paid for this jolly???????????
The Greenpeace Membership should be outraged at just how juvenile this group is making the organisation look in the bigger policy context and how the funds wasted here could be put to better use, actually achieving change.

By mark89 - 31 August 2010 at 1:23pm

Richard F,

I'm not sure that mentioning the Milankovitch cycles counts as "Macho" but that's the kind of response I expect when you mention solid scientific facts to the soap dodging hippy community. You guys really don't have a clue...

Richard, I suggest you Man up and Grow a Pair! Your wishy-washy, weak, pathetic, spineless approach is what's wrong with this world.

Realitycheck121 - Very well said!

By Conserve Lentils Ban Greenpeace - 31 August 2010 at 1:29pm

In this beautiful spot and heaven of the almighty soil and waters of Greenland are Greenpeaces real wictims: The children and young, where their parents have lost their only income opportunity in one of the most expensives countries to live in. Greenpeace has removed it with a global shutdown of an arctic profession seal skind trade. 0 sealskin trade to foreign countries the last tree years.
Here the second time Greenpeace tries to hit the Greenlandic people again, perhaps because of Greenland need for new income options or alternatives to sealhunting.

By Knud Seblon - 31 August 2010 at 3:25pm

Normal practice in the Danish / Greenland judiciary is essentially unlimited imprisonment for many 10 of years without knowing when to come out. Is that what Greenpeace can postpone it´s crew?

By Knud Seblon - 31 August 2010 at 3:53pm

I think Greenpeace are being really naïve and don’t really understand the fundamentals of offshore drilling.

The drilling in Greenland is not really deep water (<500m I believe).

The conditions are really not that harsh, it’s the summer, compare this to offshore off of Canada or in the North Sea in the winter.

The Stena Don and Stena Forth are two of the most technological advanced rigs available. Both have two shear rams in their BOPs and have received AOC (Acknowledgement of Compliance) from the Norwegian government.

Many thousands of wells have been drilled in much deeper water and much harsher conditions without incident.

The deepwater horizon was a tragedy, and in part was down to poor management and lack of accountability from BP managers and in part down to lax regulations from the states. If the rig had been operating in Greenland, Norway or the UK, the disaster would not have happened, it’s as simple as that.

By tommc - 31 August 2010 at 8:20pm

I am so psyched about this! This is wonderful that you've finally stopped those greedy oil barons!

Of course we can't stop here! No , we must move forward and make sure that the world is free of these money-hungry greedy CEOs that strangle the world via oil.

Is the NYC Mosque Bad?

By schockergd - 31 August 2010 at 11:00pm

Okay you made it onboard the Stena Don, attached some barriers and built a fucking tent!! Well done that man/woman!! What next, try to board the other drilling vessel up there and do the same? I bet that has really made a difference. My thoughts are it has projected to people what a foolish group of people on the esperanza who have absolutely no idea about the drilling industry and the implications there foolish actions might have had.
I look forward to seeing what your next move is or will you peacefully leave the arctic waters with your tails between your legs once you have realised you have accomplished absolutely nothing other than burning thousands of pounds worth of diesel, oil and helifuel!!!
Get a real job please!!

By topperharley - 1 September 2010 at 5:17am

"We've stopped Arctic Drilling" Ha ha. If only you fucking clowns lived on the same planet and had a clue about the industry. Do you really think by having some climbers on the underside of a rig has halted drilling Ops??? I dont think so, you lot really dont have a fucking clue and you really make me irate with your stupidity. What did you expect to happen, all the rig crew to down tools and sit in the accomodation?? Come on get real, your presence has had no effect on either of the vessels and i am sure works contuinue's as normal.
The only thing you are achieving is distracting hard working rig hands from performing there job that they are trained to do.
The word "Chlamydia" rings a bell!!! Irritating *****!!!

By topperharley - 1 September 2010 at 5:56am

I think they would have had to stop drilling with the climbers onboard. Any other thoughts from drilling people? Being Dynamically Positioned (DP) both rigs would need thrusters continually operating while the riser is connected to the BOP stack. Obviously I don't know what operation they were on at the time, but I would have thought that it would be irresponsible to have DP up and running with the possibility that someone might fall into the water. I believe that the OIM would treat the threat to life, whether that of the protesters or of a Stena crew member, the same.

By tommc - 1 September 2010 at 5:58pm

You are correct about the vessels being DP and the thrusters run continuously in order for station keeping as soon as the rigs are on location. People work over the side all the time on these vessels and i can assure you they dont stop the thrusters in order for work to commence as this defeats the purpose of DP as the rig would drift off location and the riser would disconnect so sorry you are wrong there. People under the rig would have no influence at all on the operation on the Don. If i was the OIM i would authorise the cutting of there ropes and let everyone watch from above as they fell into the arctic and froze. It would be a harsh lesson for there stupidity and endangering the lives of the rig workers who are only out there earning a living for there families back home!! CUT THE ROPES!!!

By topperharley - 2 September 2010 at 4:25am

I believe no Navy Commandos were pressent on scene at the time of the "attack". That fact made it pretty easy to get by the "massive security" and on to the rig. No credits from here...

By CHS - 31 August 2010 at 10:21am

Try to live one day in the green philosophy in its broadest concept in Greenland. The house, the hotel have electricity from hydropower plants; borrow a car with electricity make by electricity from hydroelectric plants. Borrow a rowing boat and fish or catch animals that live their whole lives out in the extremely beautiful nature in Greenland. No animals in iron cages, pumped up with drugs. Their are experiment with new and alternative arctic houses in high scientific level, of course, with solar energy. Over 75% use of green hydro power plants in Greenland (including these hydro plants under construction), while there beginning efforts for hydrogen production from excess hydroelectricity, two provide green energy to the remote areas with no hydro plants. Hydroelectric plants in Greenland is provide from melt water from the icecap and huge lakes from there and there are no swamp land. We also see Greenland experimenting with solar and wind energy too. Greenland is like Norway and Iceland Pioneers two develop green energy in huge and large scale. Greenda administration and demokrazy is on the same level of Skandinavien.. Go out and tell the rest of the world of Greenland efforts in Greenpeace main goal. This will help inspires the world to do the same and go further away in what world have in its veins today: Black oil. At the same time, Greenland is one of the new countries to preserve supply of raw minerals (mine activity) to the large foreign countries, so Greenland has great knowledge of global aspects. And hunt of natural born fish and animals is use. Not born and raised in cage, but lived in the beauty of nature. And finally; the icecap of Greenland has always melted in all times. Freeze at winter, melted at summer. No sensation in that. Large and very huge iceberg has broken off as long as there has been ice in Greenland.

By Knud Seblon - 31 August 2010 at 11:24am

You irresponsible bunch of retards! How dare you endanger the lives of the Stena Don crew by acting in such a stupid and pathetic way! You keep banging on about saving the planet by not drilling for oil but you’re very quite when it comes to suggesting valid alternatives. And as for “Climate Change” if you could be bothered to look into you would see it’s been happening for hundreds of millions of years. What was causing it before? Dinosaur Farts? I suggest the Milankovitch cycles have more to do with climate change than humans. Are you going to try and stop that next too? Get a grip Greenpeace. You have very little support and very little respect in your ill-informed opinions. Leave the hard working rig crew alone and go back to growing lentils. You are no better than the Religious Fundamentalist who want to return us to the dark ages.

By Conserve Lentils Ban Greenpeace - 31 August 2010 at 11:34am

The 'commandoes' are on the Warship sent by the Danes. Well done GP for ignoring the silly macho posturing of the commando-boys and their 'man-o-war'. In my opinion the SBS-style hard men need to grow up - just like the rest of us humankind. No doubt we'll be seeing more of this kind of silliness over the next few hours as (in this case) the Danish armed forces try to justify thier existence. Swaggering round eye-balling the world like bolshy adolescents won't fix climate change, or help us all come down from our petroleum addiction.

By Richard F - 31 August 2010 at 11:39am

The above post is a wonderful example of the kind of macho silliness I was talking about. Thank you - QED.

By Richard F - 31 August 2010 at 11:41am

Drilling is a hazardous operation but can be conducted safely, as demonstrated by the thousands of safe, secure, non-polluting wells all over the world. It can also go wrong as demonstrated by the Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico. The drilling rigs in Greenland are the most technically advanced in the world and have a flawless safety record - it was for this reason that they were secured by Cairn Energy and they were passed fit for use by the Greenland Government. The operations in these waters are constantly assessed for safety under some of the strictest controls ever enforced on a drilling operation. The drilling in Greenland has the full legal permission of the Greenland Government and is fully supported by the people of Greenland – this was clearly demonstrated by Greenpeace's failed attempt to drum up support at it's disastrous meetings in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital. The drilling rigs crew will now have their concentration interrupted by these clowns that have tied themselves to the rig. Instead of being able to concentrate on the job they are trained to do they will now have to ensure that these Greenpeace idiots do not injure themselves. The actions of Greenpeace in Greenland are irresponsible and should be stopped immediately. Any protests should be carried out by legal process not by endangering the rigs crew and the environment. Stop this reckless action immediately; Greenpeace does not have the right to put lives and the environment at risk just to satisfy its insatiable, unhealthy appetite for publicity.

By realitycheck121 - 31 August 2010 at 12:44pm

What non-sense you spout about evading the "Massive Security operation" 2 days ago you were pleading poverty saying oww why are the Danish navy here "we are a peaceful protest". Yet today you breach a 500 meter cordon which is the same around an oil rig ,anywhere in the world , and is done for the safety of the local maritime community and deliberately and intentionally board a vessel in Danish/ Greenlandic waters. Breaking at least two maritime laws and endangering the lives of everyone involved. Not to mention the hierocracy of using an old diesel powered boat a frigging helicopter and RIB's all powered by diesel. Safety equipment and tents etc all made of plastic from hydro- carbons. Your radical actions discredit the green movement and undermine the legitimacy of the cause. Do you care to publish just how much of this operation is costing the membership, whether or not the crew and activists are being paid for this jolly??????????? The Greenpeace Membership should be outraged at just how juvenile this group is making the organisation look in the bigger policy context and how the funds wasted here could be put to better use, actually achieving change.

By mark89 - 31 August 2010 at 1:23pm

Richard F, I'm not sure that mentioning the Milankovitch cycles counts as "Macho" but that's the kind of response I expect when you mention solid scientific facts to the soap dodging hippy community. You guys really don't have a clue... Richard, I suggest you Man up and Grow a Pair! Your wishy-washy, weak, pathetic, spineless approach is what's wrong with this world. Realitycheck121 - Very well said!

By Conserve Lentils Ban Greenpeace - 31 August 2010 at 1:29pm

In this beautiful spot and heaven of the almighty soil and waters of Greenland are Greenpeaces real wictims: The children and young, where their parents have lost their only income opportunity in one of the most expensives countries to live in. Greenpeace has removed it with a global shutdown of an arctic profession seal skind trade. 0 sealskin trade to foreign countries the last tree years. Here the second time Greenpeace tries to hit the Greenlandic people again, perhaps because of Greenland need for new income options or alternatives to sealhunting.

By Knud Seblon - 31 August 2010 at 3:25pm

Normal practice in the Danish / Greenland judiciary is essentially unlimited imprisonment for many 10 of years without knowing when to come out. Is that what Greenpeace can postpone it´s crew?

By Knud Seblon - 31 August 2010 at 3:53pm

I think Greenpeace are being really naïve and don’t really understand the fundamentals of offshore drilling. The drilling in Greenland is not really deep water (<500m I believe). The conditions are really not that harsh, it’s the summer, compare this to offshore off of Canada or in the North Sea in the winter. The Stena Don and Stena Forth are two of the most technological advanced rigs available. Both have two shear rams in their BOPs and have received AOC (Acknowledgement of Compliance) from the Norwegian government. Many thousands of wells have been drilled in much deeper water and much harsher conditions without incident. The deepwater horizon was a tragedy, and in part was down to poor management and lack of accountability from BP managers and in part down to lax regulations from the states. If the rig had been operating in Greenland, Norway or the UK, the disaster would not have happened, it’s as simple as that.

By tommc - 31 August 2010 at 8:20pm

I am so psyched about this! This is wonderful that you've finally stopped those greedy oil barons! Of course we can't stop here! No , we must move forward and make sure that the world is free of these money-hungry greedy CEOs that strangle the world via oil. Is the NYC Mosque Bad?

By schockergd - 31 August 2010 at 11:00pm

Okay you made it onboard the Stena Don, attached some barriers and built a fucking tent!! Well done that man/woman!! What next, try to board the other drilling vessel up there and do the same? I bet that has really made a difference. My thoughts are it has projected to people what a foolish group of people on the esperanza who have absolutely no idea about the drilling industry and the implications there foolish actions might have had. I look forward to seeing what your next move is or will you peacefully leave the arctic waters with your tails between your legs once you have realised you have accomplished absolutely nothing other than burning thousands of pounds worth of diesel, oil and helifuel!!! Get a real job please!!

By topperharley - 1 September 2010 at 5:17am

"We've stopped Arctic Drilling" Ha ha. If only you fucking clowns lived on the same planet and had a clue about the industry. Do you really think by having some climbers on the underside of a rig has halted drilling Ops??? I dont think so, you lot really dont have a fucking clue and you really make me irate with your stupidity. What did you expect to happen, all the rig crew to down tools and sit in the accomodation?? Come on get real, your presence has had no effect on either of the vessels and i am sure works contuinue's as normal. The only thing you are achieving is distracting hard working rig hands from performing there job that they are trained to do. The word "Chlamydia" rings a bell!!! Irritating *****!!!

By topperharley - 1 September 2010 at 5:56am