Arctic 30 News

The environmental protest icebreaker 'Arctic Sunrise' has sailed back into Dutch territorial waters after over 300 days in Russian custody. The ship had been held illegally since taking part in a peaceful direct action against state owned oil company Gazprom, as it tried to drill the world’s first oil well in icy Arctic waters, says Greenpeace. Several members of the so called ‘Arctic 30’ were there to greet the ship and boarded the vessel in Beverwijk, near Amsterdam. “This is a joyous day for me, for my friends and for the millions of people around the world who campaigned for the release of the Arctic 30 and the Arctic Sunrise”, says Dutch climate and energy campaigner Faiza Oulahsen…

When dealing with the environmental lobby, there’s really only one thing you need to know. The nautical definition of middle ground is a length of comparatively shallow water having channels on both sides. In everyday language, we might call it a position of compromise between two opposing views or parties. That’s typically what reasonable folks try to achieve when resolving disputes or disagreements. For some in the environmental lobby, however, there’s no such thing as middle ground. And, there never will be. The sooner the maritime industry and its oil & gas cousins wake up to this reality, the better. I must admit that I am increasingly not a fan of the environmental lobby. That’s not to say I don’t support some of its collective goals and missions. I do.

The European Parliament has passed a resolution calling for a protected area around the North Pole which could ban oil companies and industrial fishing fleets from the region, informs Greenpeace. The move represents a clear break from the current positions of ‘Arctic Council’ members such as Norway, Denmark, Canada and Russia who have resisted calls for permanent protection of the Arctic region. In contrast, Finland, another Arctic state, recently adopted the sanctuary proposal as official policy. “What happens in the Arctic matters to us all.

The European Parliament today passed a resolution calling for a protected area around the North Pole which could ban oil companies and industrial fishing fleets from the region. The text echoes the demands of an international campaign which has attracted the support of over five million people including Sir Paul McCartney and U.S. oceanographer, Sylvia Earle. The move represents a clear break from the current positions of ‘Arctic Council’ members such as Norway, Denmark, Canada and Russia who have resisted calls for permanent protection of the Arctic region.

The final chapter in the legal ordeal of the Arctic 30 began as the group was asked to attend a meeting at Russia’s powerful Investigative Committee, where the criminal case against them is being dropped en masse. According to Greenpeace they will then have one more hurdle – securing exit visas in their passports – before the non-Russians are free to leave the country and be reunited with their families. A meeting with the Federal Migration Service is scheduled for later today. The Arctic 30 are expected to leave Russia in the coming days.

The Greenpeace activists who spent two months in jail after their protest in the Arctic have expressed relief after the Russian parliament voted to grant them amnesty. The Russian parliament, the Duma, has voted for an amendment that extends an amnesty decree to defendants who have been charged with hooliganism. It therefore includes the Arctic 30 - the 28 activists and two freelance journalists who were arrested following a protest at a Gazprom-operated Arctic oil platform three month ago.

Lawyers for Greenpeace International believe the draft text of a Russian amnesty to be voted on by the Duma (the Russian parliament) would be unlikely to benefit the Arctic 30 protesters. Thus they still face the possibility of trial and conviction for their protest. In its present form, the proposal would apply only to people who have either been convicted of hooliganism, or people who are on trial and will be convicted within the six month period after the amnesty decree is adopted.

Lawyers for the Arctic 30 have started to lodge applications with Russia's Investigative Committee seeking exit visas for the non-Russian nationals. If the applications are approved, the foreign nationals would be allowed to leave Russia to await ongoing investigations into their Greenpeace International Arctic oil drilling protest. All of the foreign nationals, 26 people from 17 nations, have had their passports returned to them after their release on bail from detention last month.

The Dutch Foreign Ministry has finalised a bank guarantee of 3.6 million euros in compliance with a binding ruling by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) ordering Russia to release the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise and the Arctic 30 protesters. "The Netherlands has now fulfilled its part of the Tribunal's binding order and Russia is obligated to also comply by releasing the ship and the Arctic 30, as the Tribunal so ordered. The Tribunal has ordered both Russia and the Netherlands to report back on progress with their compliance by December 2.

The Murmansk Regional Court has rejected an appeal against the arrest of the ship 'Arctic Sunrise' by Russian authorities reports Greenpeace. "This is an extremely disappointing ruling. We believe this verdict is in violation of both the Russian Criminal Procedure Code and international law. Cassation procedures are now available under Russian law," said Gerrit-Jan Bolderman, Director of Stichting Phoenix, the ship’s owner. Besides the possibility of a further appeal at a cassation court by Stichting Phoenix…

Greenpeace International said it has already posted bail for nine of the Arctic 30, but does not expect them to be released before the weekend. Lawyers say they are making bail payments - set at 2 million rubles (€45,000) for each detainee - as quickly as they can. At court hearings this morning Faiza Oulahsen from the Netherlands and British citizen Alexandra Harris became the 13th and 14th Arctic 30 prisoners to be granted bail. Lawyers for Greenpeace today said there are a number of bureaucratic issues to resolve before any of the Arctic 30 are released from jail and they do not expect any of them to be out of prison until the weekend, possibly later. It is still not clear whether their movements will then be restricted.

Noble Corporation, contracted to Texan petroleum company, is preparing to drill one of New Zealand's deepest ever exploratory wells in the Taranaki Basin with its drill-ship 'Noble Bob Douglas'. Protesters have admitted they cannot stop drilling off the coast of New Zealand, but intend to make it difficult for them, reports TVNZ News. The Greenpeace NZ blog informs: "... the calm of our peaceful flotilla was broken. In 24 hours we’ve gone from a collection of yachts enjoying the company of whales…

Two Greenpeace activists were today granted bail in St Petersburg, becoming the fourth and fifth of the so-called Arctic 30 to be told they will soon be released. Brazilian Ana Paula Maciels, 31, and David Haussmann from New Zealand, 49, from New Zealand were told they will be released from jail if they can provide financial surety within four days. The development came the day after three Russian activists were told on Monday, November 18 they would be released from prison and, on the same day, an Australian activist was refused bail and ordered to return to jail until February 24.

Greenpeace International confirms that the train carrying 30 men and women detained after  a peaceful protest at a Gazprom Arctic oil platform has arrived in St Petersburg. The Arctic 30 departed from Murmansk in a prison wagon early on Monday and upon arrival in St Petersburg the wagon was detached and moved 1km away from the station. The authorities moved the detainees to transportation buses, surrounded by many police. It is not yet certain which SIZO (detention centre) in…

ITLOS is an independent judicial body located in Hamburg, Germany, established to resolve disputes about the interpretation and application of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The Dutch authorities initiated an arbitration case against Russia on October 4, and on October 21 called for ITLOS to indicate ‘provisional measures’ pending the outcome of that arbitration. In a “provisional measures” case like this one, ITLOS can order measures it thinks appropriate to preserve the respective rights of the Netherlands and the Russian Federation…

Greenpeace International reports that it understands from diplomatic sources that the thirty men and women detained by Russia following a peaceful protest against an Arctic oil platform are being moved from a detention centre in Murmansk to a jail in St Petersburg. Lawyers for Greenpeace are not aware of the reasons for the move. "“The detainees shouldn’t be in jail at all. They should be free to join their families and restart their lives. St Petersburg has some daylight in the winter months, unlike Murmansk. Families and consular officials will now find it easier to visit the thirty.

Prosecuting authorities in Russia were under fire today after it was revealed that they have failed to lift charges of piracy against the Arctic 30, despite pledging to do so. Russia’s powerful Investigative Committee announced last week that the piracy charges – which carry a 15-year jail sentence – would be replaced with charges of hooliganism. But when the thirty detainees were brought before the Committee over the course of this week, the piracy charge was not withdrawn. Instead each of them was simply served with the additional charge of hooliganism. They now stand accused of both offences, which carry a maximum sentence of 15 and 7 years, respectively.

According to Greenpeace, Shell's CFO Simon Henry said that the company is putting the building blocks in place to drill in Alaskan Arctic as early as next year. "Shell's Arctic bravado is a desperate attempt to reassure its investors, but the facts tell a different story. Brushing off the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars and casually scrapping a drilling platform are not the actions of a company in control of its operations. "In 2012 Shell proved that it is completely unfit to drill in the remote Arctic, a place of unrivaled beauty where any spill would be an environmental disaster.

Russia boycotts ITLOS arbitration concerning their siezure of the Dutch-flagged 'Arctic Sunrise', and Greenpeace responds to reports that piracy charges against the 30 held in custody were to be replaced by that of 'hooliganism'. The Russian Foreign Ministry has announced that it will not accept an international arbitration process at which the Netherlands is seeking the release of the Greenpeace International ship Arctic Sunrise and its crew. It also said it plans not to attend the hearing at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS). According to Greenpeace, the Ministry did, however, say that at the same time Russia remains open to settling the situation. “The Arctic 30 are no more hooligans than they were pirates.

Greenpeace International activist Frank Hewetson (U.K.) has been refused bail by the Regional Court of Murmansk in Russia, bringing the number of rejected bail appeals to 10. Activist Marco Weber (Switzerland) also appeared in court today, but his appeal hearing was postponed until October 21 due to the lack of a German language translator. Italian crew member Cristian D'Alessandro will appear in court later  for his bail hearing and more appeals will be held later this week.

Greenpeace International has branded as ‘a fantasy’ claims by Russia’s Investigative Committee that activists endangered the safety of Russian security officers in the course of their protest at a Russian Arctic oil platform. Greenpeace International has today published a slow motion video of an incident in which a Greenpeace boat comes to assist another one being harassed by armed security forces. The Greenpeace boat sails towards the middle of the port side of the security forces boat and then only briefly touches it with the nose, immediately turning away and making a 180° turn to the left.

The Regional Court of Murmansk rejected an application made by lawyers for two Greenpeace International activists and a freelance photographer that they be released on bail. A further 27 cases requesting bail will be heard later this week. Twenty-eight Greenpeace International activists, a freelance photographer and a freelance videographer were seized by Russian special forces on the ship Arctic Sunrise in international waters 19 days ago. Their arrests followed a peaceful protest at the Gazprom Arctic oil platform Prirazlomnaya. Greenpeace International Executive Director Kumi Naidoo said, “There can be no justification for the continued detention of activists who did nothing more than express their beliefs through entirely peaceful means.

Thousands of people took part in an emergency day of solidarity protests 5, October 2013, around the world to demand the release of 30 people imprisoned in Russia after they were detained aboard a Greenpeace ship in the Arctic. Peaceful events were held on every continent, in more than 135 locations across 45 countries, from New Zealand to Mexico, from Thailand to Finland and the United States. There are also protests planned across Russia. Earlier, 28 Greenpeace activists, and a freelance photographer and a videographer…