The Greenpeace ship Esperanza is leaving Dutch Harbor for the Chukchi Sea on what the environmental activist organization calls its “Save the Arctic” tour, Greenpeace announced July 6.
Greenpeace characterizes the tour as a research expedition designed “to study unexplored ocean habitats threatened by offshore oil drilling, as well as industrial fishing fleets.” The Esperanza is equipped with “an array of modern research tools” including small submarines, acoustic monitoring equipment and unmanned aerial vehicles, Greenpeace said. The submersibles on the Esperanza are equipped with indexing lasers, high definition video cameras and robotic arms for retrieving samples, the organization said.
“We’re headed to the Arctic to show how little is known about this pristine ecosystem before Shell’s rigs move in to destroy it,” said Jackie Dragon, lead Arctic campaigner for Greenpeace USA. “Instead of recognizing the grave warning of melting sea ice, Shell is planning to drill for more of the oil that caused the melting in the first place. We have to break this vicious cycle of corporate greed and work together to save the Arctic.”
Submarine exploration
Greenpeace said that it in the area of Shell’s drilling it will conduct the first ever submarine exploration of the Chukchi Sea, documenting the marine habitats and wildlife.
“There has been very little consideration of the impacts of drilling — or an oil spill — on the unique marine life of the Chukchi Sea,” said John Hocevar, oceans campaign director for Greenpeace USA. “Very little is known about the Arctic seafloor, and yet Shell is willing to gamble it all before we even know what’s in our hand.”
The federal District Court in Alaska has issued an injunction banning Greenpeace from occupying or interfering with the operation of any of 19 vessels that Shell plans to use in the Arctic, including Shell’s two drilling vessels. The injunction also bans Greenpeace from entering safety zones ranging from 500 to 1,000 meters around the vessels when the vessels are in transit, as well as imposing airspace restrictions around vessels involved in helicopter operations.
In February a group of Greenpeace activists occupied the drillship Noble Discoverer in harbor in New Zealand, to try to prevent the drillship from leaving New Zealand for Alaska. Greenpeace also tried to prevent the departure of the icebreaker Nordica from Finland to join Shell’s fleet.
—Alan Bailey
