Greenpeace Activists Fined For Security Breach At Leiv Eiriksson Rig

A Greenland court has levied fine on 20 Greenpeace activists for breaching security and carrying out protests at Leiv Eiriksson rig. The court found them guilty of trespassing into world's biggest oil rigs in May 2011 to stage a protest to coax Cairn Energy into publishing its oil spill contingency plan.

"We take full responsibility for our peaceful actions to protect the Arctic," said one of the activists, Greenpeace Campaigner Ben Ayliffe. "Cairn Energy admits that a spill in this fragile and unique environment would be catastrophic; it is madness to allow such reckless companies to drill for more of the oil that is causing the region to melt in the first place. Our campaign to make the frozen north a no-go area for the oil industry will continue.'

The case, which took place in the Greenlandic capital Nuuk, ruled in favour of fining two of the activists with 1,500 DKK (€200) each, and the other 18, who were also found guilty of breaking a security zone were fined 4,000 DKK (€550) each.

The much publicised protests which led to the arrests of many activists succeeded in garnering international support that resulted in Cairn releasing its oil spill plan in August. In the plan the company states that in the event of a spill it wouldn't carry out any clean up operations in the long harsh Arctic winters explaining that traditional recovery techniques using booms and skimmers would not be effective in freezing waters. Furthermore the company noted that a spill would adversely impact the field's marine environment and wild life that includes narwhals and breeding colonies of puffins and razorbills.

Meanwhile, Edinburgh-based Cairn Energy's controversial Greenland drilling campaign that was launched three years ago has continuously disappointed with three wells turning up dry leading to their abandonment. The latest setback in the exploration programme was Delta-1 well. The company intends to push forward with the rest two wells of the 2011 campaign before the Arctic winter sets in.