Greenpeace Sovcomflot protest at Rotterdam creates 'unreasonable risk'

Ice-breaking shuttle tanker Mikhail Ulyanov was carrying a 67,000 tonne cargo of crude oil from Gazprom's Prirazlomnoye platform, hailed by Greenpeace as "the first tanker with crude oil from the Arctic" to unload at Rotterdam.

Around 30 of the protestors have been arrested by Dutch police, including the captain of the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior, which at one point positioned itself between the 257 m long tanker and the oil terminal.

"The actions of Greenpeace break the fundamental principles of international conventions for safety at sea as well as environmental safety," commented the tanker's master, Stanislav Chichin.

"My responsibility in manoeuvring in the confined waters of a port is no less dangerous than sailing in the Arctic, especially when another vessel is trying to interfere with a tanker transporting 67,000 tonnes of crude oil in an area of high intensity shipping. During the process of final voyage and during the mooring operations to the terminal of the port, the Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior deliberately tried to prevent the safe mooring of the vessel, putting herself between the hull of the tanker and the berth, risking their people and of the port."

Sovcomflot vice president and head of safety department Mikhail Suslin, added: "The actions of Greenpeace have compromised a safe operating environment for the Mikhail Ulyanov, her crew and protesters themselves and exposed the involved parties to the useless and unreasonable risk," commented

"We are extremely disappointed that our vessel has been the subject of an irresponsible publicity stunt by Greenpeace, which occurred despite the measures taken by our ship and the port authorities, including the Coast Guard and the Marine Police."

"The actions of Greenpeace have caused unnecessary extra stress for the ship's captain and potentially unsafe operating conditions for the vessel when manoeuvring in the restricted area of the port waters, and especially by the Greenpeace actions preventing the safe mooring of the tanker to the oil terminal. "

The tanker successfully moored, while Rainbow Warrior was taken away by Dutch authorities.

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