NORTH SEA, SUNDAY, 30 APRIL 1995--Greenpeace today scaled and took up residence on an old North Sea oil platform to stop its owner, Shell, from dumping the rusting hulk and its highly toxic contents to the sea bed.
Four climbers used ropes and winches to scale the Brent Spar, which is the first of the 400 North Sea oil platforms to be dumped at sea. The climbers have food and supplies for what is expected to be a long occupation. The Moby Dick is standing by as a safety vessel. The activists first climbed the steel ladders on the installation, then scaled the outer part of the rig, 28 metres high above the waterline.
After Moby Dick captain Pelle Pettersson notified the five other rig support vessels in the area, stating that Greenpeace was protesting the dumping of the Brent Spar, a Shell standby vessel then sailed very close to the Moby Dick and the inflatables, harrassing them.
The Brent Spar contains over 100 tonnes of toxic sludge --including oil, arsenic, cadmium, PCBs and lead -- including more than 30 tonnes of radioactive waste left over from oil drilling and storage operations on the Brent Oil Field.
The UK Government's decision to allow Shell to dump the Brent Spar was based on information supplied and paid for by Shell.
Ironically, the planned dump comes just one month before North Sea environment ministers meet in Denmark in June to discuss measures to eliminate the discharge of hazardous substances from all sources into the North Sea and the marine environment.
"The decision is short-sighted and the latest example of governments allowing industry to treat the seas as a toxic dump," said Greenpeace's Tim Birch onboard the Moby Dick.
"Greenpeace will remain on Brent Spar until the UK Government or Shell comes to their senses and revokes the decision to dump it," Birch said.
A Greenpeace report released today, "No Grounds for Dumping: The decommissioning and abandonment of off-shore oil and gas platforms", analyses the decommissioning options available to the UK Government. The report concludes that total removal is not only the best environmental option but also the most cost-effective, feasible and job-saving.
"If the UK Government does not reverse its disastrous decision, dumping the toxic- laden Brent Spar at sea could set a domino effect in motion as more of the 400 North Sea oil platforms are abandoned," said Birch.
Marine ecosystems, especially in the North Sea, are still under serious pressure from chemical and radioactive discharges, sewage pollution, pesticide run-off and atmospheric pollution, among other sources.
"Dumping oil platforms laden with toxic cocktails will only add to the list of contaminants and proves yet again that the UK Government and the oil and gas industries have total disregard for the health of our seas," said Birch.
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For more information and/or a copy of the Greenpeace report: Tim Birch or Desley Mather onboard the Moby Dick ++ 871 130 2403 or Cindy Baxter at ++44 171 833 0600
EDITOR'S NOTE: The Brent Spar is located in the Brent Oil Field, in the UK Sector of the North Sea. It is 190km (118 miles) North North East of the Shetland Islands (61deg 03'14.7" N, 01deg 40'04" E).
Photos/footage: contact Greenpeace Communications Ltd(images will be with international agencies later today)