After 50 hours occupying OMV’s oil and gas exploration ‘henchboat’ in Timaru to prevent it leaving port, the last 10 protestors are now being forcibly removed by police.
The occupation began at dawn on Sunday when the group boarded the vessel and took up various positions including three up the mast and two attached to the mooring lines.
Greenpeace climate campaigner, Amanda Larsson, says the occupation has successfully ended any hope OMV had of conducting their reckless drilling programme out of sight and out of mind.
“Their oil rig may be lurking out of reach over the horizon, but we have brought the resistance to them and alerted the nation to risks we face,” she says.
“This resistance is only set to continue. Next week, hundreds of people from around the country are gearing up to take part in a Climate Uprising mobilisation in New Plymouth, where this vessel is heading and OMV has its Taranaki Headquarters.”
The support vessel occupation included a wide range of people of all ages, from students to health professionals, and experienced activists to first-timers. It was made up of Greenpeace activists including Austrian national Magdalena Bischof, and people from Extinction Rebellion, 350 Aotearoa, Oil Free Otago, and Environmental Justice Ōtepoti.
OMV is about to begin drilling three oil wells off the Taranaki Coast and one in the Great South Basin off the Otago coast, where it will undertake the riskiest kind of oil drilling, at extreme depths.
OMV is one of just 100 companies that have caused over 70% of the world’s climate emissions.
ENDS
Contacts in Timaru:
Amanda Larsson, Greenpeace climate and energy campaigner: 021-722-794
Sophie Schroder, Greenpeace communications and media: 021-0864-7450
Photos and videos for download:
https://greenpeace.box.com/s/xv02p4aplylogm7y8f20r8nt17uhf9g8