{"id":66261,"date":"2024-10-01T11:33:23","date_gmt":"2024-09-30T22:33:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/?p=66261"},"modified":"2025-06-25T01:36:45","modified_gmt":"2025-06-24T13:36:45","slug":"on-thin-ice-putin-vs-greenpeace-arctic-30","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/on-thin-ice-putin-vs-greenpeace-arctic-30\/","title":{"rendered":"On thin ice – Putin vs Greenpeace: the story of the Arctic 30, and why it still matters today"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In the chilly autumn of 2013, a Greenpeace crew embarked on a mission to highlight the dangers of Arctic oil drilling. This mission would become a defining moment for the environmental movement \u2013 though not in quite the way they\u2019d planned.<\/p>\n\n

This group of Greenpeace activists and journalists came to be known as the Arctic 30, and their story is told in the BBC series\u00a0On Thin Ice: Putin v Greenpeace<\/a> now showing on TVNZ.<\/p>\n\n

The mission: save the Arctic from oil drilling<\/h2>\n\n

The journey began on the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise, which set sail towards the Prirazlomnaya oil platform in the Pechora Sea. Prirazlomnaya was the first to start offshore oil production in the Arctic, at huge risk to the fragile Arctic ecosystem. Greenpeace\u2019s objective was clear: to draw global attention to the environmental dangers of drilling in the Arctic and to peacefully protest against Gazprom\u2019s operations.<\/p>\n\n

On September 18, 2013, the Arctic Sunrise arrived at the platform. Several activists attempted to scale the platform and mount a multi-day protest against Arctic oil drilling. However, their actions were met with brutal responses from the Russian authorities.<\/p>\n\n

\"A
A Russian coast guard officer is seen pointing a gun at a Greenpeace International activist as five activists attempt to climb the \u2018Prirazlomnaya,\u2019 an oil platform operated by Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Slashed, seized and held at gunpoint<\/h2>\n\n

In the hours that followed the activists had guns pointed in their faces, their boats slashed with knives, and automatic weapons fired into the water surrounding them. The Russian Coast Guard vessel blasted shots ahead of the Arctic Sunrise. Then, masked commandos descended from a helicopter, detained the activists at gunpoint, and seized the Arctic Sunrise.<\/p>\n\n

\"A
Russian security services abseil from a helicopter onto the deck of the Arctic Sunrise and seize the ship at gunpoint.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Looking at the pictures from that day (smuggled home on a memory card hidden in an activist\u2019s shoe!), it\u2019s hard to believe that all those handguns and helicopters were there to stop a peaceful climate change protest. The brutality of the response is a powerful reminder of why these protests matter: polluters see Greenpeace and its supporters as a real threat to their profits.<\/p>\n\n

The activists, along with two journalists documenting the protest, were transported to Murmansk, a port city in northwestern Russia. Initially they faced charges of piracy, which carried a potential 15-year prison sentence. The severity of the charges shocked many around the world, given the peaceful nature of their protest.<\/p>\n\n

\"On
Russian security services seize the Arctic Sunrise at gunpoint.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

The incident quickly escalated into a diplomatic standoff. Greenpeace argued that the charges were baseless and that the activists were exercising their right to peaceful protest. But the Russian government, under Vladimir Putin, refused to budge.<\/p>\n\n

An international outcry<\/h2>\n\n

At this moment of maximum jeopardy, Greenpeace launched one of its largest campaigns ever: a huge global effort spanning several continents and involving multiple legal battles, dozens of protests and hundreds of thousands of supporters.<\/p>\n\n

It was no longer just about saving the Arctic \u2013 we now had to bring the Arctic 30 home, too.<\/p>\n\n

It seemed like an almost impossible task at the time, but the entire organisation sprang into action, and supporters stepped up to help.<\/p>\n\n

\n