Greenpeace activists preparing to climb the 53,000 tonne Leiv Eiriksson, Paul Simonon, former bass player of The Clash, is on the right.

180 km off the Greenland coast five inflatable speedboats launched from the Greenpeace ship Esperanza to carry a delegation of 18 Greenpeace activists to the 53,000 tonne Leiv Eiriksson. The team climbed ladders to the accommodation deck and radioed the Esperanza to say they were now being taken to meet the drill manager. Greenpeace are demanding to see a copy of the rig’s Oil Spill Response Plan as the operators of the rig, Edinburgh-based Cairn Energy, have refused to publish the plan, going against all industry norms. Greenpeace argues that it is dangerous to drill for oil in the pristine Arctic waters as a spill would be near impossible to clean up. Cairn’s operations also pose a grave threat to Greenland’s fisheries, which represent 88% of the island’s export economy.