Shell won a court order making the company able to prevent Greenpeace activists from boarding unmanned oil and gas installations in the North Sea; Greenpeace commented the decision of the court as a “setback“, as BBC reports.
Namely, during the ruling Judge Lady Carmichael of the Edinburgh Court of Sessions concluded that the installations are Shell’s private property and the company has every right to prohibit any access to them; Additionally, the Judge noted that the aging structures may also be a hazard to the unauthorized personnel that enters the area without any safety equipment.
Following the latest incident where Greenpeace activists boarded Shell’s Brent Bravo platform, the environmental group stated that there is a high possibility of “thousands of tonnes of hazardous oily sludge” being left in the area, when the rest of the structure is to be removed.
Yet, Shell replied that they are aware of the dangers and have a “tightly-controlled regulatory process” for decommissioning.
Moreover, the Judge stated that health and safety issues gave the right to Shell to halt Greenpeace from boarding the facilities. The ruling means that Greenpeace can no longer go within a 500m (1,640ft) safety zone around platforms in the Brent field.
After the judge’s decision, Shell expressed its support on the right to protest peacefully and safely.
We are pleased this decision recognises that the existing legal safety zone should be respected by campaigners
… Shell noted.
Concluding, Greenpeace expressed its opposition to the conclusion of the hearing, commenting that it is a setback to the group’s efforts in peaceful protests.
