‘This kind of stunt at sea is a serious risk to safety and life’
Oil giant Shell has dropped its legal action against Greenpeace UK, who it was suing for $2.1 million or £1.7 million in damages after protestors occupied one of its vessels for 13 days last year.
The dispute has been settled with Greenpeace agreeing to make a £300,000 donation to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).
Shell will not receive any payment as part of the settlement and says that the charity donation recognises its main concern “that this kind of stunt at sea is a serious risk to safety and life”.
In January 2023, six Greenpeace activists boarded an oil vessel carrying one of the company’s floating platforms just north of the Canary Islands, as it was being transported to the North Sea.
They occupied the vessel for 13 days, displaying signs calling on the oil major to “stop drilling – start paying”. The protestors disembarked when the vessel reached Norway.
Greenpeace said that when the protest ended, the only damage Shell could find was a padlock, which they claimed had been broken by Greenpeace activists.
In response to the protest, Shell threatened legal action in November last year, alleging that it and its contractor Fluor had incurred a total of $8.6 million (£6.74m) in damages.
Shell instead demanded that Greenpeace “stop protesting at any of their facilities at sea or in port, anywhere in the world, ever again, or otherwise face a $1.7m+ damages claim and a wide-ranging injunction”.
Greenpeace criticised Shell for initiating legal action, describing the case as a strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP). Greenpeace described this kind of lawsuit as “abusive” and “commonly brought by wealthy corporations to silence critics”.
As part of the settlement, Greenpeace has agreed not to travel within 500m of three Shell sites for a period of five years and one Shell site for a period of ten years, all located in the North Sea.
In a statement, Shell said it is pleased that the dispute has been settled “and that a payment in lieu of the costs it incurred can benefit a charity working on safety at sea. For Shell, the right to protest is fundamental and has never been at issue”.
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