On Sunday, November 24, 30 people boarded the the Bahamas-flagged offshore support vessel, Skandi Atlantic, while it was preparing to leave the Port of Timaru in New Zealand in order to meet a drilling rig commissioned by OMV, with the aims to stop it from assisting OMV’s oil rig.
Namely, representatives from a variety of environmental groups are taking part in the protest, such as Greenpeace, Extinction Rebellion, Oil Free Otago and 350 Aotearoa.
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Greenpeace climate and energy campaigner, Amanda Larsson, stated that “We’ve brought the resistance here to disrupt its chain of support. We won’t let this rig carry out its climate-destroying activities quietly, out of sight and mind.”
Notably, OMV is about to begin drilling three wells there, followed by one in the Great South Basin off the Otago coast.
The action follows protests last month outside OMV’s headquarters in Austria, where Māori climate activist, Mike Smith announced a lawsuit to be filed at the International Criminal Court against OMV’s CEO, Rainer Seele. Lately, OMV has also faced protests in Dunedin, Wellington and New Plymouth.
Greenpeace further suggests that OMV is one of 100 companies that have caused over 70% of the world’s climate emissions.
What is more, Greenpeace took to twitter to announce that a total of eight activists have been arrested and removed from the OMV’s henchboat, further commenting that the rest still remain unremoved for more than 36 hours.
In June, Greenpeace ended a 12-day protest involving a Transocean drilling rig, which BP had contracted. The campaign came to an end after protesters had boarded the rig in the Cromarty Firth on June 9. The rig was heading to the Vorlich oil field east of Aberdeen.
Earlier in June, Greenpeace activists boarded on an offshore drilling rig, which belongs to Transocean and planned to begin drilling operations for BP in the UK North Sea, in an attempt to stall BP’s oil plans.
