In the last couple of hours, we've received this footage from the Esperanza from this morning's daring occupation of the Stena Don, the oil rig operated by Cairn Energy. It shows just what an amazing feat the guys and gals there have pulled off, not least evading the Danish navy and scaling the oil rig legs.
Video: evading navy boats and climbing up oil rigs
Article tagged as: cairn energy, climate change, go beyond oil, oil, stena don, videos
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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.
I am certainly proud of the determination of yours. Keep on going to what it takes.
Thank-you Greenpeace, go you! I'm just...words fail! This morning, my mobile bleeped, I clicked on the message and it was from your messaging service. I immediately jumped out of bed and yelled the news to the whole family before sprinting to the computer downstairs. We watched as the images and voice clips came in, for an hour, and I just felt so overjoyed.
You did it again! You bobbed about in Espy, taking small helicopter rides and photos, sticking outside the boundary and lulling them into a false sense of security; you withstood all the following and intimidation of the danish war ship and police ships; you were calm and professional throughout and then - WHAM! You evade all the rig security and show the world that it doesn't matter that you are unarmed, outnumbered or tailed by warships, you can still, with a non-violent protest take on the Danish Navy, the Greenland Police and stop Arctic drilling!
This is not simply stopping Arctic drilling, it's taking on injustice, it's taking on dangerous operations, it's standing up for the rights we all have: to be told the truth, and to have a say on what happens to the World we all live in. Thanks with all my soul, I am so grateful to you.
Love and gratitude
XXX
Glad to see that those boats were being rowed & not using petrol or any other demon fuel, its times like this i figure that there are some hypocrites among the human race.
You haven't stopped anything and you never will. Greenland economy needs a boost and the people need to work. You are doing nothing but putting people's lives at risk by camping on the rig - seriously hope one of you falls in the freezing water - might give you a reality check...and I don't see why any of the Danish forces or police should make a move to help you - your own stupid faults.
This is NO amazing feat - just one borne out of complete stupidity and naivity.
Get the silver spoons out of your mouths, go get a proper job and grow up.
P.S. what exactly powers your boats ???!!!
I have always thought of Greenpeace as a well meaning but misguided organisation. The latest dangerous stunt now convinces me that Greenpeace is a dangerous organisation that has no place in the real world.
To recklessly put human life in danger and threaten a legitimate business is nothing short of terrorism.
If you really want to change the world then campaign for a reduction in population as the increase in humanity is the real threat to the world.
I refer to your totally inacurate comments:
"As for the drilling, the Stena Don has not found oil, it hasn't even found gas - that was the Stena Forth, the drilling ship in the same area. No chance of a spill because of our action."
The truth is that you do not know the status of this well and I challenge Greenpeace to provide the following information for the public domain:
1. What was the status of the well before Greenpeace invaded (as a minimum: depth, downhole pressure, gas concentration, etc) and how do you know that your intervention was not hazardous? Without this simple information you cannot know that it was safe to cause a suspension of the operation and your action was reckless.
2. How do you know that the Stena Don has not encountered gas/oil? The fact that a previous blog states that the Stena Forth has moved to a different location would indicate the exact opposite;ie the Stena Forth found nothing and has moved on but the Stena Don has.
3. Do Greenpeace have a Drilling Engineer onboard Esperanza advising them on the the technicalities and dangers of exploration drilling? This question has been asked previously and remains unanswered.
4. Can you provide evidence that the Rig Manager was advised of the impending invasion by your activsists? By law every vessel MUST advise drilling units before they enter the 500m safety zone to avoid conflicts of operation. This is a fundemental safety requirement which you have breached. The so called Captain of the Esperanza should be ashamed of himself; at the very least I hope the authorities suspend his certification (if he has any) due to this breach of a fundemental safety requirement.
5. If you have caused the suspension of drilling operations on the Stena Don how are they going to secure this well before the season closes? Do you not understand that you cannot just stop and leave a live well? Again I refer to your total lack of research and drilling knowledge.
Do not assume that everyone supports your confrontational action (a quick look at your responses on this site will show you the real opinions).
Come on Greenpeace, I challenge you to prove that you know what you are talking about, that you thoroughly researched the current status onboard Stena Don and that you have not caused a hazardous situation.
And for the sake of clarity following previous insulting replies to my entries I would reiterate:
I do not work for Cairn, or any other oil company.
As part of my education and training (Geologist) I do have an in-depth knowledge of offshore drilling.
I have young children and care about the environment as much as anyone.
Once again totally misinformed comments by Greenpeace fanatics.
Lisavickers wrote:
"2 drills drilling
@ProtestVote -- The Stena Forth drilling ship was drilling for oil at a site 20 km from the rig and has now moved north to drill at a new site 150 km away. Does that sound like a safety drill ship to you? They are searching for oil here with no emergency response plan and taking massive risks in harsh conditions - threatening this pristine environment and our climate."
Of course they are searching for oil; we all know that.
If the Stena Forth drillship has moved 150 km away she can still return in 8 hrs - the fact is that each unit acts as a back-up to the other. Simple.
Have you asked to see the emergency response plan you claim doesn't exist? The Greenland government has and has accepted it. It is illegal to drill without an emergency response plan so stop talking about things you know nothing about.
They are not taking massive risks, they are conducting a standard shallow water exploration/appraisal well. Thousands of these well have been drilled all over the world, including many for scientific research, without problem.
The conditions are not harsh which is exactly why your activists have been buzzing around in speedboats.
Stop putting out false information and start giving an honest overview of what exactly is going on.
Also start taking the rights of the local population into account; your arrogant attitude is exactly why the meetings Greenpeace tried to hold in Greenland to drum up support were an absolute disaster. I note you do not include any photos on your website of the peaceful, and legal, protests by the Greenlanders your presence in Nuuk sparked.
And to close: absolutely no mainstream media coverage of your childish antics. You must be gutted.
In the video above, your final words are 'We need to go beyond oil and start investing in cleaner energy'.
By stopping oil production, the world will pretty much come to a stop until this clean energy is produced. There is a huge amount being spent on research etc into this - exactly as you are asking for - YET YOU STILL COMPLAIN.
It is a fact that we cannot manage on the amounts of energy that can be produced by alternative methods at this time!
I, for one, do not want to return to the dark ages until such times as energy can be produced in a way that suits Greenpeace.
Why doesn't Greenpeace spend money on inventing an alternative to fossil fuel or just magic up that alternative method, rather than just stopping oil production? Lets face it, without that alternative its not feasible to stop our reliance on oil.
i believe they are a smart people and they never do stupidity by doing this,, that is what they choose to help the world and to make our life more healthy
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.
I am certainly proud of the determination of yours. Keep on going to what it takes.
Thank-you Greenpeace, go you! I'm just...words fail! This morning, my mobile bleeped, I clicked on the message and it was from your messaging service. I immediately jumped out of bed and yelled the news to the whole family before sprinting to the computer downstairs. We watched as the images and voice clips came in, for an hour, and I just felt so overjoyed. You did it again! You bobbed about in Espy, taking small helicopter rides and photos, sticking outside the boundary and lulling them into a false sense of security; you withstood all the following and intimidation of the danish war ship and police ships; you were calm and professional throughout and then - WHAM! You evade all the rig security and show the world that it doesn't matter that you are unarmed, outnumbered or tailed by warships, you can still, with a non-violent protest take on the Danish Navy, the Greenland Police and stop Arctic drilling! This is not simply stopping Arctic drilling, it's taking on injustice, it's taking on dangerous operations, it's standing up for the rights we all have: to be told the truth, and to have a say on what happens to the World we all live in. Thanks with all my soul, I am so grateful to you. Love and gratitude XXX
Glad to see that those boats were being rowed & not using petrol or any other demon fuel, its times like this i figure that there are some hypocrites among the human race.
You haven't stopped anything and you never will. Greenland economy needs a boost and the people need to work. You are doing nothing but putting people's lives at risk by camping on the rig - seriously hope one of you falls in the freezing water - might give you a reality check...and I don't see why any of the Danish forces or police should make a move to help you - your own stupid faults. This is NO amazing feat - just one borne out of complete stupidity and naivity. Get the silver spoons out of your mouths, go get a proper job and grow up. P.S. what exactly powers your boats ???!!!
I have always thought of Greenpeace as a well meaning but misguided organisation. The latest dangerous stunt now convinces me that Greenpeace is a dangerous organisation that has no place in the real world. To recklessly put human life in danger and threaten a legitimate business is nothing short of terrorism. If you really want to change the world then campaign for a reduction in population as the increase in humanity is the real threat to the world.
I refer to your totally inacurate comments: "As for the drilling, the Stena Don has not found oil, it hasn't even found gas - that was the Stena Forth, the drilling ship in the same area. No chance of a spill because of our action." The truth is that you do not know the status of this well and I challenge Greenpeace to provide the following information for the public domain: 1. What was the status of the well before Greenpeace invaded (as a minimum: depth, downhole pressure, gas concentration, etc) and how do you know that your intervention was not hazardous? Without this simple information you cannot know that it was safe to cause a suspension of the operation and your action was reckless. 2. How do you know that the Stena Don has not encountered gas/oil? The fact that a previous blog states that the Stena Forth has moved to a different location would indicate the exact opposite;ie the Stena Forth found nothing and has moved on but the Stena Don has. 3. Do Greenpeace have a Drilling Engineer onboard Esperanza advising them on the the technicalities and dangers of exploration drilling? This question has been asked previously and remains unanswered. 4. Can you provide evidence that the Rig Manager was advised of the impending invasion by your activsists? By law every vessel MUST advise drilling units before they enter the 500m safety zone to avoid conflicts of operation. This is a fundemental safety requirement which you have breached. The so called Captain of the Esperanza should be ashamed of himself; at the very least I hope the authorities suspend his certification (if he has any) due to this breach of a fundemental safety requirement. 5. If you have caused the suspension of drilling operations on the Stena Don how are they going to secure this well before the season closes? Do you not understand that you cannot just stop and leave a live well? Again I refer to your total lack of research and drilling knowledge. Do not assume that everyone supports your confrontational action (a quick look at your responses on this site will show you the real opinions). Come on Greenpeace, I challenge you to prove that you know what you are talking about, that you thoroughly researched the current status onboard Stena Don and that you have not caused a hazardous situation. And for the sake of clarity following previous insulting replies to my entries I would reiterate: I do not work for Cairn, or any other oil company. As part of my education and training (Geologist) I do have an in-depth knowledge of offshore drilling. I have young children and care about the environment as much as anyone.
Once again totally misinformed comments by Greenpeace fanatics. Lisavickers wrote: "2 drills drilling @ProtestVote -- The Stena Forth drilling ship was drilling for oil at a site 20 km from the rig and has now moved north to drill at a new site 150 km away. Does that sound like a safety drill ship to you? They are searching for oil here with no emergency response plan and taking massive risks in harsh conditions - threatening this pristine environment and our climate." Of course they are searching for oil; we all know that. If the Stena Forth drillship has moved 150 km away she can still return in 8 hrs - the fact is that each unit acts as a back-up to the other. Simple. Have you asked to see the emergency response plan you claim doesn't exist? The Greenland government has and has accepted it. It is illegal to drill without an emergency response plan so stop talking about things you know nothing about. They are not taking massive risks, they are conducting a standard shallow water exploration/appraisal well. Thousands of these well have been drilled all over the world, including many for scientific research, without problem. The conditions are not harsh which is exactly why your activists have been buzzing around in speedboats. Stop putting out false information and start giving an honest overview of what exactly is going on. Also start taking the rights of the local population into account; your arrogant attitude is exactly why the meetings Greenpeace tried to hold in Greenland to drum up support were an absolute disaster. I note you do not include any photos on your website of the peaceful, and legal, protests by the Greenlanders your presence in Nuuk sparked. And to close: absolutely no mainstream media coverage of your childish antics. You must be gutted.
In the video above, your final words are 'We need to go beyond oil and start investing in cleaner energy'. By stopping oil production, the world will pretty much come to a stop until this clean energy is produced. There is a huge amount being spent on research etc into this - exactly as you are asking for - YET YOU STILL COMPLAIN. It is a fact that we cannot manage on the amounts of energy that can be produced by alternative methods at this time! I, for one, do not want to return to the dark ages until such times as energy can be produced in a way that suits Greenpeace. Why doesn't Greenpeace spend money on inventing an alternative to fossil fuel or just magic up that alternative method, rather than just stopping oil production? Lets face it, without that alternative its not feasible to stop our reliance on oil.
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