Greenpeace activists have scaled a Gazprom-owned rig in the Arctic in a new protest over potential damage to the region by oil exploration.
The environmental campaign group sent five boats to the Prirazlomnaya rig in the Barents Sea at around 4.30am this morning.
Two activists were been arrested after climbing onto the platform by Russian coastguard, which fired warning shots across the bows of Greenpeace’s Arctic Sunrise craft.
They were later named as Finnish campaigner Sini Saarela, 31, and 28-year-old Swiss activist Mario Weber.
“Despite massive financing for Prirazlomnaya, it is not able to guarantee safe production of Arctic oil,” Greenpeace said.
Last year production at the rig, Russia’s first such project in the Barents Sea, was delayed last year because of a similar protest.
“Employing this level of force against a peaceful protest ship is completely disproportionate and should stop immediately,” said Ben Ayliffe, head of Greenpeace’s arctic oil campaign.
“It’s clear that oil companies receive special protection from the Russian authorities, who seem more interested in silencing peaceful activists than protecting the Arctic from reckless companies like Gazprom.
Russia’s security service confirmed coastguard had fired rounds from an AK74 rifle after giving verbal warnings to the campaigners.
The FSB said it had fired shots when the Arctic Sunrise refused to stop. Greenpeace said coastguard had asked to board the vessel but had been denied permission by its captain.
Gazprom declined to comment.
The Pechora Sea-based rig, 60km from the northern Russian coast, is the first Arctic prospect to be developed by the country, and is expected to reach up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day at peak production.
Last month Greenpeace was forced to pull its boat from the Kara Sea off Siberia after Russian coastguard threatened to open fire on them.
Earlier this week Greepeace posted a video on YouTube claiming to show unsafe conditions on the rig: