Alaska News

Pirates briefly occupy Arctic-bound offshore rig

Greenpeace pirates occupied a Norwegian-manufactured deepwater drilling rig headed from Turkey to the Arctic for more than 12 hours Friday. The oil and natural gas rig was headed north to operation for the Scottish oil and gas company Cairn Energy PLC, according to a press release from the environmental group. The occupation comes as many around the globe celebrate Earth Day. "Campaigners boarded the 53,000-ton rig at dawn in a bid to stop" the Leiv Ericksson, which "is currently navigating the Dardanelles Straits." Upon occupation the pirates "scaled the vessel and unfurled a banner demanding 'Stop Arctic destruction.'" The Leiv Ericksson rig is named after the famous Viking widely thought to be the first European to land in North America. Greenpeace reports that the pirates, led by a Vancouver, B.C. climber, will not leave the rig until their demands are met. "It is inconceivable that Leiv Ericksson … can recklessly plow on into the freezing waters of the Arctic … At some point Cairn will have to stop this rig." Greenpeace volunteer Ben Ayliffe said in a press release. "Our climbers are trying to protect one of the world's most precious natural environments from dangerous oil drilling." In an updated blog, Greenpeace did not comment on how its volunteers were forced from the rig. Cairn Energy claims to be one of Europe's largest oil and gas independents.

Craig Medred

Craig Medred is a former writer for the Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Dispatch and Alaska Dispatch News. He left the ADN in 2015.

ADVERTISEMENT