I’m writing this from the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise, somewhere in the North Sea…
A few days ago I completely unexpectedly found myself on an all-nighter from London to Scotland. It’s a long story but really, I was only going up there to walk my dog! While crawling around gorse bushes 19 hours later with binoculars (and said dog) and so wet that I could barely get my phone out of my pocket, I got a phone call.
On the bridge of the Arctic Sunrise, somewhere in the North Sea
And now, five days later I’m in some kind of groundhog day following a BP oil rig and its entourage backwards and forwards, backwards and forwards, from shore to the rig site out in the North Sea. Since we first occupied the BP oil rig in Scotland’s Cromarty Firth, it’s done a complete u-turn three times.
Through all the sleeplessness and adrenaline out here, all we know is that this is day ten of us stopping BP from drilling using its only new rig going out this year. We’re stopping them from dredging up another 30 million barrels of oil to fuel this climate crisis. We are throwing everything, EVERYTHING at this; to stand between BP and the production of more fossil fuels than our climate can take.
I am so proud of all the activists and land crew that have spent the last ten days stepping up and taking on this company. Finally, I feel like I’m doing what we all need to be doing in a climate emergency. How unexpected. How good. Maybe this will all be over in the next few hours and we will be making our slightly sad way back into port. Or maybe, just maybe, this will be the last nudge BP needs to change its ways and stop all their oil drilling plans.
Greenpeace climbers on BP oil rig in Cromarty Firth, Scotland.
Everything sounds impossible until it’s done.
Rise up.
Sarah North is an oil campaigner on board the Greenpeace Ship Arctic Sunrise
Note: an earlier version of this post stated this is BP’s only UK oil project in 2019. It has been corrected to say it is BP’s only new rig going out this year.
Discussion
you lovely people are total heroes
You are doing an amazing job. Reading your post gave me goosebumps. Brave brave Rainbow warriors. So very proud of you all, Bloody well done.
Good show men of valor & peace... I very much appreciate & love you all...
Sarah North with Green Peace should get a real job,green peace boat runs on oil and diesel fuel, takes donations fron the rich who own shares in wind power, solar and oil shares also. The world can’t run on wind power, solar,no planes,no vechicles,no boats, no supply’s from oil. Vechicleswith electric battery’s can’t go 1000 km,s , maybe 250 km,s,trucks hauling freight that go non stop across North America hauling our supplies need fuel. Oil employs millions people world wide , I do agree climate is changing,but not from crude,smoke,radiation,forest fires, floods, are changing climate.
Awesome guys, fantastic effort, hang in there!
the great lakes were covered by glaciers 14000 years ago, yet when DeCchamplain discovered them in the year 1615, there was no ice. did man cause this warming?
you people are not interested in science.
Why BP? Your activists are picking the soft easy targets while the major climate changing developments are taking place elsewhere. Why not actions in Russia or West Coast Africa, where new rigs going on site almost daily? Or China - still using CFC’s.
Who supplies the heavy fuel oil for your ships, the petroleum for your outboards? BP, Shell or a less reputable corporate player? If the former, based on your assessment of the best operators in an imperfect world, then why prioritise these players as targets?
Greenpeace “ afternoon tea and then home” Warriors
what is that oil rig doing today (25-june) ? drilling at the scheduled location (Vorlich oil field), I suppose ....