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Arctic defenders still in police custody
September 3, 2010
We are still waiting for our climbers to be released but hoping they will be back on board the Esperanza soon. They are sorely missed - especially Timo's lovely guitar playing in the evenings. Anais is talking about preparing a "Welcome Back!" banner for them and every time the captain or our campaign leader walks past we keep asking "any news?". The answer is still no. Nobody knows exactly when they will be out and perhaps they wont be allowed back to the ship at all.
Sim, Timo, Jens and Matt are truly heroes! I don't think I have ever witnessed such an amazing direct action in all my time with Greenpeace. Timo, Matt, Jens and Sim scaled the oil rig by climbing a structure that looked unclimable to me. When I look at the footage of their ascent - my jaw drops open in amazement. They spent over 40 hours up there - suspended above the churning Arctic waves through freezing winds and periods of loud noise from the thrusters that keep the rig in position. They kept themselves in good spirits throughout the occupation and never complained about the conditions they were in. We're so very proud of them for stopping Cairn's Arctic drilling for so long. They really stopped it for 40 hours - and that's quite an achievement.
While our climbers were on the rig and since they have been arrested - we have received some very touching messages of support from so many people. I've been gathering them today so that I can show the climbers when they're back on board. I thought it would also be nice to share them here (see below) and say thanks to everyone who sent us these messages - and the others I haven't managed to copy yet. It means a lot to us to receive them and I have already printed off several pages of them and passed them around over dinner in the mess. I even saw our chief engineer reading them and watched his face light up with big smiles. And he rarely smiles so this is quite an achievement!
Thank you so much. I'll let you know more news on our heroic Arctic defenders when I have it.
-- Lisa
Timo and Matt on the Esperanza before the action. We want them back along with Sim and Jens!
Messages to the climbers via Twitter:
OwenJ92
Aug 31, 11:49pm via Web
@gp_espy keep it going! what you're doing is amazing, I've never seen a protest like it! stick to it!
Emmabob3
Aug 31, 11:23am via Twitter for iPhone
@gp_espy - Well done for your amazing/brave/inspiring action. You have my total support & best wishes ; )
jonesthelight
Aug 31, 11:27am via Web
@gp_espy All the very best with that and what a great way to start my day :)
GinniKipper
Aug 31, 11:39am via Web
@gp_espy Massive congratulations and gratitude for what you are doing for us. I'm still gathering followers on FaceBook :-)
wolf_hazel
Aug 31, 11:54am via Web
@gp_espy Well done guys for the work on Cairn Energy! Hang in there! I support you and wish you all the best!
r3to
Aug 31, 12:10pm via CoTweet
@gp_espy Spectacular action!! Well done! Hope you can stop Arctic drilling for good.
patrickolszo
Aug 31, 12:21pm via Echofon
@gp_espy - this is amazing work - keep going - we are all rooting for you! A global moratorium on oil drilling now #gobeyondoil
givepeasachance
Aug 31, 12:36pm via Web
@gp_espy Well done to all, we're all cheering you on back home! Keep up the good work guys and gals. Much love and solidarity xx #beyondoil
Lear88
Aug 31, 2:21pm via Web
keep up the amazing work in the Arctic @gp_espy. You continuously inspire change - where others would rather take it away. :) #beyondoil
JohnBaldy
Aug 31, 3:21pm via Web
Follow @gp_espy for an object lesson in both saving the planet and in making a twitter feed exciting. Big up Greenpeace!
kateogden
Aug 31, 3:25pm via Web
@gp_espy You guys are an inspiration! Stay safe! #beyondoil
mayhew60
Aug 31, 4:05pm via Web
@gp_espy I woke up with a smile today. You guys are doing a great job. It is time to send a message that oil is not the future
tennilesunday
Aug 31, 4:33pm via Web
I effing love greenpeace @gp_espy for working to shut down Cairn Energy's oil rig in the arctic. http://www.gobeyondoil.org
alisonjanehealy
Aug 31, 6:28pm via Web
@gp_espy Guys, keep up the amazing work. When right is on your side, then many things are possible
iXalapa
Aug 31, 6:46pm via Web
@gp_espy Great Job!!!! even with the navy behind you do the job !!! we are proud and surprise
Chelspresso
Aug 31, 8:15pm via Twitpic
@gp_espy http://twitpic.com/2jy774 - Beyond impressive. Keep up the good work, MUCH love and respect.
OwenJ92
Aug 31, 11:49pm via Web
@gp_espy keep it going! what you're doing is amazing, I've never seen a protest like it! stick to it!
celiaalario
Sep 01, 12:02am via txt
Rt @Greenpeace: Wishing our4activists occupying Cairn'sArctic oil rig&everyone onboard @gp_espy a good sleep! http://bit.ly/bys
mariamonica
Sep 01, 3:06am via Twitpic
@gp_espy http://twitpic.com/2k0d3y - I've no words now that I've seen your courage.I wish I could do something from here. Pls. take care.
350
Sep 01, 11:00am via HootSuite
If you're not following Greenpeace's @gp_espy, you're missing a helluva adventure in the fight against #oil in the Arctic.
Emmabob3
Sep 01, 3:27pm via Web
@gp_espy- Just thought I'd check in to say well done for stopping the drilling in the arctic for 24 hours. Go go go (but keep safe) ; )
daisystreet
Sep 01, 3:31pm via Saezuri
@gp_espy : Good morning, Esperanza! Enjoying the updates. Thank you for not only believing, but *doing. Take care. Stay safe. Be wonderf
AshleighF68
Sep 01, 4:25pm via Web
@gp_espy you guys are doing so well!! being brave enough to go against what others think! you have my total support :)
Lear88
Sep 01, 5:55pm via Web
Hang in there @gp_espy the world is watching in awe. Let's all make a wave. #beyondoil
gotsound
Sep 01, 5:55pm via Web
@gp_espy For the past week every morning I wake up feeling inspired after reading your live tweets from the arctic. Keep up the battle!
soup1531
Sep 01, 6:05pm via Web
@gp_espy Hold strong ya'll. We are all extremely proud of you. I will start collecting beer to feed you when you get back to SF Sim!
Sneakyboots
Sep 01, 7:44pm via Web
@gp_espy Sim, you lucky dog! I'd give anything to be hanging up there with you right now! Way to go, guys and girls..good on you!!!
engagejoe
6:48am via HootSuite
@gp_espy What a beautiful video of Anais. Her Arctic story brilliantly illuminates why I organize locally. http://j.mp/9Z0U
brianfit
9:14am via TweetDeck
@gp_espy Sending a virtual cup of piping hot coffee to climbers aboard the Stella Don. ♨ http://bit.ly/bysplt
IanMcL13
11:13am via Web
@gp_espy Thanks for your courage and your passion on our behalf
twinkle031
12:11pm via twicca
@gp_espy you did so nice things! I live in Korea now but when I grow up, I want to be a big help. keep going!!
Messages to the climbers on Facebook
Abi Ralls: HELL YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sylvia Watson-Stewart: Well done, we're with you in spirit!
Therese Davis: YOU GUYS ROCK! Wish I was there helpin'
Talitha Mcintyre-Burnie: You are my heroes! xx
Tara Wales: So friggen Far Out!!! You guys represent me also, I am disabled, I couldn't do that. So you speak for me also and I thank you all!
Deborah Barrass: Good, brave people.Their actions will be remembered in our uncertain future.
Wende Anne Maunder: Sim - thank you so very much. Words cannot express the gratitude I feel for the courageous work you are doing. I wish I had a million pounds to help you with your campaign. Bless you! Bless Greenpeace.
Sergio De Benito Navarrete: I'm very proud of all these Greenpeace activists. Thanks to all of you, and please never, never give up. Planet Earth needs more people like you. Greetings from Spain.
Polly Pearshouse: I used to be a climber but not like that! Scary stuff - huge respect for what you're doing - thank you
Jean Loughlin: Yeah...RESPECT GUYS....I couldn't do it!!!
Julie Bird: Love to you all and the deepest respect
Scott McNeil: this is what it takes, bravery and courage and determinatio...
Video: Esperanza to climb team, over
September 2, 2010
This was the scene on the Esperanza's bridge as Luke called through to Sim on the Stena Don for the last time, as the climbers prepared to leave the oil rig. Apologies for the audio which is a bit fuzzy, but here's a transcript:
S: Esperanza, this is Alpha Climb, go ahead
L: Er you called us, over.
S: Oops, sorry about that. We just finished our last battery so this [radio] will be our sole means of communication over
L: Copy that, you will only be on VHF, only on VHF. The police on board have channel 67 to communicate with you. Please communicate with them when needed. Suggest you eat your remaining food, have a rest, and then slowly make your way out as and when the time is right, over.
S: Esperanza this is Alpha Climb, understand the police have channel 67 for communicating with us. Um, we copy that we should communicate with them to negotiate our exit.
L: Copy that, you should communicate with them and make your own way out. If you need assistance they are willing to assist you in any way necessary. If you need a line, please communicate with them directly as to where you want it, and make your way safely onboard.
S: Esperanza, Climb Team Alpha, understood, we will be standing by for that communication over.
L: Copy that, have a nice climb, out
Esperanza calls back:
S: Esperanza Climb Team Alpha, go ahead.
L: Yes, Climb Team Alpha, one more thing:We just want you to appreciate the mangnitude of the event you have undertaken. We are just approaching 40 hours, 40 hours of stopping drilling in the Baffin Bay area, please stand-by for one final communication from the Esperanza:
[Massive cheer erupts from the ship's crew]
Understood, over?
S: Esperanza, Climb Team Alpha, well understood! It has been truly a pleasure working with y'all and we hope to see you in the not very distant future! Over.
L: Indeed, we look forward to seeing you hopefully sometime in the next 24 hours. This is the Esperanza. Out.
"Well, that was dramatic" - watching our activists from the ship
September 2, 2010
Ben writes about this morning's events from the Esperanza... Well, that was dramatic. Yesterday afternoon, the seas started churning and our huge banner on the oil rig was twisting and flapping as a gale blew up. I spoke to the four activists under rig and they assured me they were fine. They had self-heating meals and water and were still doing interviews, telling the world about Cairn Energy’s plans to spark an Arctic oil rush. I kept eyeing the scene through the porthole in my cabin with concern. The swell was heaving and the lips of the waves were breaking white across the stretch of sea separating the Esperanza from the rig. The weather forecast on the screen on the bridge looked ominous – lots of grim symbols over the coast west of Greenland – while a quick duck outside had my eyes watering with the cold. Ending the occupation of the Stena Don was a big call for us. We’d stopped it drilling for oil here, while the other rig being operated by Cairn, the Stena Forth, was also closed down due to our actions. Think about that – because of the millions of supporters who let us operate our ships, four ordinary blokes from four different countries were able to come up here and put their bodies in the way of the Arctic oil rush, and they stopped it. They didn’t just protest about it – they actually stopped it. The drills stopped turning. But now a freezing gale has stopped us. Anybody who saw the images of our camp under the rig will appreciate how harsh the conditions were last night for the guys. When I radioed them and talked about the need to come down, they were disappointed the direct action was about to end but stunningly professional. Straight away they were working out how to get safely on to the platform gantry, where police were waiting for them (our guys obsess about safety, it’s a thing to behold, and is at odds with the image our opponents like to paint). So they’re in police custody now. But before it was over I spoke to Sim McKenna from the United States. He’s been a star these past three weeks since we left London, and as ever he found the words at the right time, despite hanging under an oil rig over freezing seas as a storm rolled in. "We stopped this rig drilling for oil for two days, but in the end the Arctic weather beat us. Last night was freezing and now the sea below us is churning and the wind is roaring. It’s time to come down, but we’re proud we slowed the mad rush for Arctic oil, if only for a couple of days. "This beautiful fragile arctic environment would be decimated by an oil spill. The melting Arctic ice is a grim reminder that we need to stop burning oil and invest instead in clean energy solutions. "I’m not sure what will happen to us now, but as soon as we can we'll be back to call for the world to finally go beyond oil. It is time for people everywhere to take a stand, to call on their governments to fight climate change, ban dangerous deep sea drilling and invest in clean energy solutions that will protect the world's fragile environments from cowboy oil companies like Cairn Energy." -- Ben
New deep sea drilling is not only irrational, our lawyers say it's illegal too
September 2, 2010
BP's Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico Today our lawyers sent a letter to the UK government threatening legal action over their decision to continue giving licenses for deep sea oil drilling even before we know for certain the causes of the Deepwater Horizon explosion. We're asking the government to stop giving out these licenses for new offshore drilling and to carry out a comprehensive new environmental assessment into offshore oil. It's not just irrational to give out licenses without this new environmental assessment; we believe it's also a breach of European and UK law. We want the UK to follow Obama's lead and introduce a moratorium on deep sea drilling. As the US Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salizar, said when introducing their moratorium: "A pause on deep sea drilling is essential and appropriate to protect communities, coasts, and wildlife from the risks that deepwater drilling currently pose… I am basing my decision on evidence that grows every day of the industry’s inability in the deepwater to contain a catastrophic blow out, respond to an oil spill, and to operate safely." Our lawyers have a strong record. You may remember that they helped us to get the last government's nuclear and aviation policies changed. This is just the first step in the legal process. If the government does not give us an undertaking within 14 days that it will stop the licensing and do a new environmental assessment, we plan to go to court. Read how the story was covered in the Financial Times today.
Our oil rig occupation has ended
September 2, 2010
Picture of Sim yesterday morning on the rig It’s five in the morning Greenland time and the last few hours have been quite insane. Last night, with the Espy pitching and rocking, and cups flying all over the place, we knew we had to get Timo, Meteusz, Sim and Jens off the rig. The worst of the Arctic weather was closing in, and their tiny tents were not going to be enough to keep them safe. Our friends had to climb up onto the rig. Due to the strong winds it took them a bit more than four hours to get up there, and when they did they were met by police and taken peacefully into custody. Looking out of my porthole at the massive waves, and feeling the movements of the Esperanza, there is no doubt in my mind that they took the right decision. I hope and believe that this action will be remembered as the first step against our blind and reckless hunt for the last drops of oil on the planet. Our friends accomplished something amazing and showed the sort of courage and dedication that politicians and industry should learn from. Before ending the occupation, Sim said this on the sat phone: "We stopped this rig drilling for oil for two days, but in the end the Arctic weather beat us. Last night was freezing and now the sea below us is churning and the wind is roaring. It’s time to come down, but we’re proud we slowed the mad rush for Arctic oil, if only for a couple of days. This beautiful fragile environment would be decimated by an oil spill, while the melting Arctic ice is a grim reminder that we need to stop burning oil and invest instead in clean energy solutions. I’m not sure what will happen to us now, but as soon as we can we’ll be back to call for the world to finally go beyond oil." While our four climbers have been arrested, our confrontation with the oil industry is gathering pace. Our colleagues back in the UK have just launched a legal challenge against deepwater drilling. We believe that the government's granting of new deepwater drilling licenses in the UK is not only irrational, but illegal. I want to thank all of you for helping us do this important work - from your letters to the UK government and Cairn to all your messages of support. Being able to confront the oil industry - out here in the Arctic waters and back home on land - is only possible because of your support. We don't take any corporate or government funding and that means we remain independent and able to challenge everyone in a position of power who is destroying our environment or taking risks with the health of our planet. We need your help to stop deepwater drilling and move the world beyond oil. Please make a donation today so that we can continue to campaign for a clean energy future. I'll keep you updated as soon as I have any more news. Thanks for all your support, Lisa - on board the Esperanza
Video: update direct from the oil rig
September 1, 2010
Watch Sim talk about his "relatively comfortable" night dangling off the underside of Cairn's Stena Don rig. Our four climbers are still on Cairn's rig, stopping the company from continuing its dangerous drilling in Arctic waters. Read more at: www.GoBeyondOil.org
Hanging in there - we're still on the Arctic oil rig
September 1, 2010
Our four climbers have spent the night in sub-zero temperatures, hanging off the bottom of Cairn's Arctic oil rig - the Stena Don. While we're attached to the rig, Cairn Energy can't continue their reckless drilling.
For live updates visit www.GoBeyondOil.org
Here's a video of how they scaled up the legs of the rig, followed by a quick interview with Sim - from the US - talking about why they're there.
Sleeping in tiny tents suspended from the rig, Sim is joined by Timo from Finland, Mateusz from Poland, and Jens from Germany and they've taken enough food with them to last a few days. The hope is that if they can hang on long enough, Cairn will miss the summer drilling window, and have to wait until next year when the sheet ice melts again.
But the situation is still tense. We're getting reports that a second Danish navy warship is heading to the area and the police have already used hooks to tear one of the banners off them.
We're in contact with the climbers and will let you know the latest as it happens. While they're still hanging in there, listen to Sim talking about why he became an activist and why although he doesn't want to get arrested, sometimes you have to take action.
Video: evading navy boats and climbing up oil rigs
August 31, 2010
In the last couple of hours, we've received this footage from the Esperanza from this morning's daring occupation of the Stena Don, the oil rig operated by Cairn Energy. It shows just what an amazing feat the guys and gals there have pulled off, not least evading the Danish navy and scaling the oil rig legs.
How we slipped past Danish commandos
August 31, 2010
Picture of Sim from the US, setting up an occupation platform. Leila, on board the Esperanza, writes: Blimey, this is exciting! Up at 4am, the crew scuttling around the Espy, all the portholes shut tight so that the Navy had no idea we were even awake. Nine brave activists eased into their dry suits and safety gear in the Lounge, a place usually reserved for chillaxing. Up on the bridge the Captain, surrounded by the ice pilot, the 2nd and 3rd mates, and the actions team, was watching through his binoculars as the 1st mate snuck onto the deck. Checking the sleepy Navy warship once more, Captain raised his hand and our inflatable boats lowered silently into the water. Still the police and the Navy, with their team of commandos onboard did not respond. At 5.45 am the Captain said one word over the radio, on a channel we rarely use: 'Go'. In moments the three boats carrying our brave climbers had crossed the 500m security line and arrived at the legs of the Stena Don. Still no response. As we watched through our binoculars, Sim from the US, Jens from Germany, Mateusz from Poland and finally Timo from Finland made their way up the legs of the rig like spidermen. Finally, the Navy launched their inflatables and commandos. Too late. Our boats were already on their way back. Alpha, one of ours, was chased briefly by the police, but the futility of their effort was clear as Alpha sailed smoothly away and back to its cradle - ready to be winched up onto the Esperanza. Huge thanks to all those of you who have supported us as we've borne witness to Cairn's catastrophe waiting to happen in this freezing wonderland. The watching is over. The action has begun. We are stopping the Stena Don drilling for oil, their window to complete the drilling is brief before the sea ice returns for the winter. Our climbers are prepared to stay as long as it takes to run Cairn out of time. - Leila Deen
Arctic drama as Greenpeace halts dangerous oil drilling operation
August 31, 2010
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 (video and stills available
soon).
The climbers have enough supplies to occupy the hanging tents for several
days. If they succeed in stopping drilling for just a short time then the
operators, Britain's 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.
Sim McKenna from the United States, one of the campaigners hanging fifteen
metres above the bitterly cold Arctic ocean, said:
"We've got to keep the energy companies out of the Arctic and kick our
addiction to oil, that's why we're going to stop this rig from drilling for as
long as we can. The BP Gulf oil disaster showed us it's time to go beyond oil.
The drilling rig we're hanging off could spark an Arctic oil rush, one that
would pose a huge threat to the climate and put this fragile environment at
risk."
McKenna, who had been helping with the Gulf clean-up operation before
joining the Greenpeace ship the Esperanza in the Arctic, continued: "Right now
this platform is the most important oil rig in the world. If we can stop them
striking oil here in the next few weeks we'll hold back the oil giants for at
least another year, hopefully gaining enough time for a global ban on dangerous
deepwater drilling projects like this to be enacted."
A Danish Thetis-class 120m warship, commandos in speed boats and a flotilla
of police boats have been shadowing the Esperanza for the last nine days. The
rig has been forced to stop drilling because any breach of the 500m security
zone around it results in a routine shutdown. Until this morning it was drilling
in volcanic rock, having failed to strike oil, and is due to move soon to a new
drill site 100km away. The campaigners hope today's occupation will delay the
move or even cause it to be cancelled.
Last week Cairn announced it had struck gas, but not oil, at a site a few
miles from the occupied rig. The fragile environment west of Disko Island is
known as Iceberg Alley due to the plentiful icebergs and tough conditions. This
has deterred oil companies from attempting exploration there in recent years,
but the world's oil giants are watching the Cairn project with great interest.
If the Edinburgh-based company strikes oil, analysts expect a new Arctic oil
rush, with Exxon, Chevron and other energy giants already buying up licenses to
drill in the area and making preparations to move in.
Jon Burgwald, a Greenpeace campaigner onboard the Esperanza, which is about
a kilometre from the occupied platform, said: "Instead of letting the oil
companies drill for the last drops of oil in pristine places like the Arctic,
our governments should be pushing the development of the clean energy
technologies we need to fight climate change and reduce our dependence on dirty
fuels. We already have the tools we need to go beyond oil, all that's missing is
the determination to make it happen quickly. That's why we have to stop this rig
from drilling for as long as we can. We can't let the oil giants take us all in
the wrong direction by opening up the Arctic seas to a new oil rush."
Last week Professor Jim Hansen, director of the Goddard Space Institute and
one of the world's leading climate scientists advocated this kind of direct
action when he said:
"It becomes clear that needed actions will happen only if the public,
somehow, becomes forcefully involved. One way that citizens can help is by
blocking coal plants, tar sands, and mining the last drops of fossil fuels from
public and pristine lands and the deep ocean." (2)
The crew of the Esperanza includes Waldemar Wichmann, the Captain from
Argentina; Annkatrin Schneider, deck hand from Germany; Ben Stewart and Leila
Deen from the UK; Jon Burgwald from Denmark; Victor Rask from Sweden; Mateusz
Emeschajmer from Poland; Timo Puohiniemi from Finland; Danielle, Second Mate
from Australia; Mannas, Chief Engineer from Holland; and Sim McKenna from the
USA.
ENDS
For more information contact the Greenpeace UK Press office on +44 (0) 207
865 8255
For still images please contact Daphne Christelis, Greenpeace UK picture
Desk: + 44 207 865 8118 or John Novis, Greenpeace International Picture Desk:
+44 (0)207 865 8230+31
For video please contact the UK press desk on +44 (0)207 865 8255
To speak to a campaigner off the coast of Greenland contact Ben Stewart,
Leila Dean or Jon Burgwald on the Esperanza on +8816 7770 1411 or +8816 7770
1412 or +8816 7770 1413.
BRIEFINGS:
Greenpeace has prepared media briefings on both Cairn Energy and the
consequences of an oil spill in the Arctic.
To view these, please visit:
http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/files/pdfs/climate/cairn_brief.pdf
Or:
http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/files/pdfs/climate/arctic_briefing_gp.pdf
NOTES:
The U.S. government calculates that the chance of a major spill occurring
over the lifetime of a single block of leases in its own Arctic waters is
greater than 20% - while those odds increase with every extra license granted.
If the Cairn operation strikes oil the number of wells sunk off Greenland would
increase dramatically. The well being drilled by Cairn is at a depth of 300-500
metres, while the moratorium introduced by President Barack Obama after the
Deepwater Horizon disaster applies to wells deeper than 152 metres. Cairn has
refused to publish a comprehensive plan for how it would deal with a spill from
the platform, and has just 14 vessels capable of reacting to a spill (BP's
response in the Gulf of Mexico required more than 3000 vessels).
Drilling west of Greenland is limited to a 'summer window' between July
and early October. After this date, sea-ice becomes too thick to allow vessels
to operate and relief wells cannot be drilled effectively. The area which
contains the occupied rig is known locally as 'iceberg alley'. Cairn is having
to tow icebergs out of the rig's path or use water cannons to divert them. If
the icebergs are too large the company has pledged to move the rig itself to
avoid a collision. Last month a 260km2 ice island broke off the Petermann
glacier north of Disko island and will eventually make its way south through
Nares Strait into Baffin Bay and the Labrador Current before reaching the area
where drilling is taking place.
Cairn is run by Sir Bill Gammell, a childhood friend of both Tony Blair
and George W Bush. When Bush first met Blair his opening words were: 'I hear you
know my friend Bill Gammell.' Last week Gammell sold Cairn's Indian operation
for $9.2bn to fund the Greenland project, describing the Arctic as his 'Plan A,
B and C.'
Baffin Bay is home to 80 to 90% of the world's Narwhals. The region is
also home to blue whales, polar bears, seals, sharks, cormorants, kittiwakes and
numerous other migratory birds.
Cairn's Greenland project is representative of a new approach to modern
oil exploration, where self-styled 'wildcat' companies take on huge financial
and technical risks in the hope of hitting a previously undiscovered reservoir
of oil. The company's complete lack of in-house infrastructure and failure to
provide a comprehensive spill response plan raises serious questions about
Cairnýs ability to deal with an accident in one of the most hostile environments
on earth.
According to Gammell, the company seeks 'big acreage' to give it a wide
area for exploration, in contrast to the smaller parcels that are routinely
found in the North Sea for example. The dangers of this approach become c...
