Greenpeace Banned from Unmanned North Sea Oil Platforms
A energy company has won a court order which prevents environmentalists from boarding unmanned North Sea installations.
Lawyers acting for Shell obtained an interim interdict against Greenpeace at the Court of Session in Edinburgh on Wednesday.
The firm launched a legal action after protesters boarded platforms in the Brent field off Shetland last month.
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Shell’s legal team asked judge Lady Carmichael last Thursday to ban protesters from going within 500m of the installations.
Greenpeace claim Shell’s plans for decommissioning the installations will cause environmental damage.
Its lawyers argued an order would breach human rights law and claimed the organisation had a legal right to protest.
On Wednesday, judge Lady Carmichael ruled in favour of Shell, concluding that since the installations were private property, Shell had a legal right to prevent protesters from accessing them.
She also ruled that, given the physical state of the installations, protesters could injure themselves.
Lady Carmichael added: “I have decided to grant the motion for interim interdict. The defenders have no right or title to enter the installations.”
Protesters from the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany climbed on the Brent field installations last month.
They were protesting against the company’s plans to decommission the platforms, which are no longer in use at the field, located off Shetland.
They claim Shell’s proposals would result in tonnes of “oil water” being dumped into he sea.
Two protesters climbed the Brent Alpha platform while another two ascended the legs of the Brent Bravo platform. The environmentalists brandished signs and banners reading “Shell, clean up your mess”.
Activists reached the field 115 miles north east of Shetland on the charity’s Rainbow Warrior ship.
Greenpeace halted its protest after 24 hours leaving a graffiti slogan of “toxic waste” on the Brent Bravo platform
Source: stv.tv
