Arctic Sunrise Protests in the Barents Sea

Lucy Lawless with hand banner reading "choose people over oil" in front of Statoil rig Songa Enabler.

Barents Sea, Norway 22 July, 2017 - Swimmers and kayactivists from the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise take to the water to continue opposing the Statoil Songa Enabler oil rig, 275km North of the Norwegian coast in the Arctic Barents sea.

Climate change survivor and activist Joanna Sustento from the Philippines, and actress and activist Lucy Lawless from New Zealand, are among the 19 nationalities who have travelled to the high Northern waters onboard the Arctic Sunrise. Sustento wants the Norwegian government to take responsibility for its climate commitments and development of a new oil frontier in the Arctic. She lost her entire family, except for her brother, to Super-typhoon Haiyan in 2013 which left large parts of her hometown, Tacloban, in ruins.

Unique identifier: GP0STQY8S

Type: Image

Shoot date: 22/07/2017

Locations: Arctic, Barents Sea, Europe, Nordic Countries, Norway

Credit line: © Will Rose / Greenpeace

Ranking: ★★★★★★ (B)

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Arctic Sunrise Protests in the Barents Sea

The Arctic Sunrise, with activists and crew on board from 19 different countries will document, expose and challenge the Norwegian government and Statoil’s aggressive search for new oil in the Barents Sea.

Only two weeks after signing the Paris Climate Agreement, the Norwegian government decided to open up a completely new area in the Barents Sea for the first time in over 20 years. We can’t afford oil companies expansion into the world’s last frontiers searching for new oil if we are to keep our families and homes out of harm's way.

15 oil drillings are expected this year in Arctic Barents Sea, a record number. The Norwegian state-owned Statoil alone is planning to drill five exploratory wells. The most northern and controversial is the Korpfjell license located more than 400 km from land. The oil licence is close to the Arctic ice edge, an important feeding ground for seabirds and wildlife. The remoteness of the area increases the response time for rescue if oil spills happen. The Norwegian government has ignored all warnings from environmental agencies and organisations.

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