An Aug. 31 news release from Greenpeace says its "campaigners have evaded a huge military security operation to scale a controversial oil rig in the freezing seas off Greenland. At dawn this morning four expert climbers in inflatable speedboats dodged Danish Navy commandos before climbing up the inside of the rig and hanging from it in tents suspended from ropes, halting its drilling operation."
The climbers have enough supplies to occupy the hanging tents for several days, the news release says.
If they succeed in stopping drilling for just a short time then the operators, Cairn Energy, will struggle to meet a tight deadline to complete the exploration before winter ice conditions force it to abandon the search for oil off Greenland until next year, Greenpeace says, noting the rig has been forced to stop drilling because any breach of the 500m security zone around it results in a routine shutdown.
If they succeed in stopping drilling for just a short time then the operators, Cairn Energy, will struggle to meet a tight deadline to complete the exploration before winter ice conditions force it to abandon the search for oil off Greenland until next year, Greenpeace says, noting the rig has been forced to stop drilling because any breach of the 500m security zone around it results in a routine shutdown.
