Diary May 13th 1995 -

FROM: GREENPEACE CREW OCCUPYING THE SHELL BRENT SPAR OIL PLATFORM

Last night at 9.30pm, a Shell helicopter swooped down on the Brent Spar oil platform with two Sheriff's officers from Aberdeen wearing Shell survival suits and carrying a legal injunction.

54KB GIF or 16KB JPG. ©Greenpeace/Sims.

As the helicopter was hovering over the helideck, a legal document was coming through the fax machine - all 13 of us were being accosted from all angles. This strong-arm tactic made us even more determined to stay on the rig since we are the only ones between Shell's crazy plan to dump this toxic rig and its implementation. The Sheriffs stayed overnight and shared our 'cosy' accommodation until the helicopter picked them up early this morning.

64KB GIF or 19KB JPG. ©Greenpeace/Sims.

Amidst all the legal gloom, we just heard that yesterday, the Danish Government condemned the UK government's decision to grant a licence for the dumping of Shell's toxic platform. What great news! The UK has always been known as "the dirty old man of Europe" and it is certainly living up to its reputation by regressing a decade in its environmental policies and outlook. The UK is certainly going to be the brunt of much criticism at the upcoming North Sea Conference in Denmark in early June as international concern over this issue grows.

90KB GIF or 33KB JPG. ©Greenpeace/Sims.

The Moby Dick is back to bring on very seasick journalists who have courageously volunteered to share this experience with us. Their coverage will allow the world to know about Shell's plans to dump this rig into the North Sea with its 100 tonnes of toxic cargo.

More as it happens from the middle of the North Sea

The Greenpeace crew on board Brent Spar