Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading

Greenpeace blocks Russian oil delivery off Denmark

Greenpeace activists blocked two Russian tankers from transferring 100,000 tonnes of crude oil off the Danish coast. ©AFP

Copenhagen (AFP) - A dozen Greenpeace activists in kayaks and swimming in the water blocked the transfer of Russian oil between two tankers off Denmark's coast on Thursday, the environmental organisation said. 

Greenpeace organised the action to call for a ban on the import of fossil fuels from Russia, following its invasion of Ukraine.

"At 11:00 am (0900 GMT), activists began the blockade of the supertanker Pertamina Prime, preventing the other ship Seaoath from approaching it and blocking the transfer of oil," Greenpeace spokeswoman Emma Oehlenschlager told AFP.

Both ships are Russian.

Eleven activists rode kayaks or swam in the icy waters off of Frederikshavn, some of them carrying signs calling on governments to "stop fuelling the war".

The activists painted "Oil fuels war" on the hull of the Pertamina Prime.

Some 100,000 tonnes of crude oil were to be transferred between the two ships.

In the past two weeks, the Danish branch of Greenpeace has carried out several actions against Russian vessels conducting oil transfers, though this was the first successful blockade.

"This is the only time we've managed to stop the delivery.In the other instances, the tankers either diverted or accelerated", Oehlenschlager said.

"They will now maintain the blockade as long as possible to make sure the ships can't get close to each other to carry out the transfer", she said, urging Denmark to ban the transfer of Russian oil in its waters.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.