British oil major Shell is raising the yardarm on Greenpeace scallywags after a group of protesters commandeered one of its production vessels at sea and swabbed the decks with anti-oil banners.Shell is seeking USD$2.1 million in damages after campaigners boarded a moving oil platform in the Canary Islands earlier this year. Fluor is reportedly also seeking an additional $6.5 million related to delays, extra security and legal fees.The lawsuit filed in London’s High Court is one of the largest to be laid against the rogue activist group in its 50-year history, according to a statement from Greenpeace itself. The suit calls for an indefinite ban on all protests at Shell offshore platforms at sea or in port anywhere in the world — or risk claims that could run into tens of millions of additional dollars from the company or its contractors.It comes after a half dozen Greenpeace protesters chased and boarded a Shell platform enroute to Scotland in January using high-speed inflatable boats and hoists to scale the deck and unfurl a banner that read “Stop Drilling. Start Paying.”.“We won’t give up. This is Shell versus all of us.”Greenpeace.Greenpeace International has launched a fundraising campaign on its web site to counter what it describes as a “draconian intimidation lawsuit… that seeks to silence the people most impacted by the climate crisis.”“Shell is threatening to sue Greenpeace for a staggering $8.6 million because we dared to challenge their reckless oil expansion plans in the North Sea. We will not be silenced,” it says.“We won’t give up. This is Shell versus all of us.”In a statement, Shell denied that it was attempting to preclude Greenpeace’s rights to peaceful protest, but was instead trying to ensure the safety of its employees and crew.“The right to protest is fundamental and we respect it absolutely. But it must be done safely and lawfully. Shell and its contractors are entitled to recover the significant costs of responding to Greenpeace’s dangerous actions,” a spokesperson said..Greenpeace has also staged a series of high profile — and infamous — protests in Alberta expressing opposition to the oil sands. In 2002 current federal environment minister Steven Guilbeault was charged for climbing on the roof of then-premier Ralph Klein’s house to ‘install’ solar panels. In 2008 and 2009, a group of protesters scaled smokestacks and process towers at Shell’s Albion Sands and Syncrude sites in Fort McMurray.And then in 2010 protesters were fined $2,300 each for rappelling from the Calgary Tower to unfurl a banner that read “Separate Oil and State” from the observation deck.Following that incident, activists filed complaints to the Alberta Human Rights Commission alleging punitive strip searches and threats of intimidation at the Calgary remand centre where they were taken into custody.
British oil major Shell is raising the yardarm on Greenpeace scallywags after a group of protesters commandeered one of its production vessels at sea and swabbed the decks with anti-oil banners.Shell is seeking USD$2.1 million in damages after campaigners boarded a moving oil platform in the Canary Islands earlier this year. Fluor is reportedly also seeking an additional $6.5 million related to delays, extra security and legal fees.The lawsuit filed in London’s High Court is one of the largest to be laid against the rogue activist group in its 50-year history, according to a statement from Greenpeace itself. The suit calls for an indefinite ban on all protests at Shell offshore platforms at sea or in port anywhere in the world — or risk claims that could run into tens of millions of additional dollars from the company or its contractors.It comes after a half dozen Greenpeace protesters chased and boarded a Shell platform enroute to Scotland in January using high-speed inflatable boats and hoists to scale the deck and unfurl a banner that read “Stop Drilling. Start Paying.”.“We won’t give up. This is Shell versus all of us.”Greenpeace.Greenpeace International has launched a fundraising campaign on its web site to counter what it describes as a “draconian intimidation lawsuit… that seeks to silence the people most impacted by the climate crisis.”“Shell is threatening to sue Greenpeace for a staggering $8.6 million because we dared to challenge their reckless oil expansion plans in the North Sea. We will not be silenced,” it says.“We won’t give up. This is Shell versus all of us.”In a statement, Shell denied that it was attempting to preclude Greenpeace’s rights to peaceful protest, but was instead trying to ensure the safety of its employees and crew.“The right to protest is fundamental and we respect it absolutely. But it must be done safely and lawfully. Shell and its contractors are entitled to recover the significant costs of responding to Greenpeace’s dangerous actions,” a spokesperson said..Greenpeace has also staged a series of high profile — and infamous — protests in Alberta expressing opposition to the oil sands. In 2002 current federal environment minister Steven Guilbeault was charged for climbing on the roof of then-premier Ralph Klein’s house to ‘install’ solar panels. In 2008 and 2009, a group of protesters scaled smokestacks and process towers at Shell’s Albion Sands and Syncrude sites in Fort McMurray.And then in 2010 protesters were fined $2,300 each for rappelling from the Calgary Tower to unfurl a banner that read “Separate Oil and State” from the observation deck.Following that incident, activists filed complaints to the Alberta Human Rights Commission alleging punitive strip searches and threats of intimidation at the Calgary remand centre where they were taken into custody.
