Oil exploration company says Greenpeace protest action cost it $150,000
Monday, 30 April 2018
A protest at sea by Greenpeace executive director Russel Norman caused a ship to make a 360-degree turn at a cost of about $150,000.
Norman and two others intercepted the oil industry survey ship Amazon Warrior as it carried out work off the Wairarapa coast on April 10 last year.
Norman, 50, and fellow activist Sara Howell appeared in Napier District Court via audio visual link on Monday and pleaded guilty to interfering with the operation of the ship. The third activist, Gavin Mulvay, accepted the offer of diversion last year. Norman and Howell declined the offer.
The Amazon Warrior is a 21,000 tonne vessel and is 126 metres long. It is operated by a subsidiary of Schlumberger Ltd and from November 2016 until mid-2017 had surveyed an area between 20 and 250 kilometres off the east coast, between Napier and Cape Palliser.
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The survey, permitted by the Department of Conservation and the Environmental Protection Agency, used energy 'pulses' into the ground to detect rock layers.
The ship towed 14 cables over an area 1.7km wide and 8km long, and could not turn or stop quickly in a safe manner. Because of its restricted manoevrability there was a non-interference zone designed to allow it to manoeuvre safely.
Norman and the others left Napier harbour in four vessels and made their way towards the survey area on April 8. The vessels included the Greenpeace vessel Taitu, the privately owned Koputai and two inflatable vessels.
Just before midday on April 10 the trio donned wetsuits and boarded the inflatable vessels and put themselves in the water in front of the Amazon Warrior.
According to a summary of facts, the crew on the Amazon Warrior asked the protesters to move, citing safety concerns. The request was refused by those on board the Taitu.
Then the Amazon Warrior took evasive action by turning to port side Norman and the others were rotated in and out of the water in order to stay in the path of the ship.
The ship was eventually forced to make a complete 360-degree turn.
The summary stated that it costs about $400,000 a day to conduct the survey and the evasive action took 8 hours at a cost to Schlumberger of about $150,000.
Last year Norman and Howell said they would defend the charge. Last week Greenpeace issued a statement saying the pair would plead guilty and seek a discharge without conviction on the basis that their conduct was 'justified and necessary to bring about required change to government policy'.
Greenpeace had also been charged with the same offence, but the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment but these were dismissed Monday.
Norman and Howell told Judge Geoff Rea through their lawyer that they would seek discharges without conviction.
Crown lawyer Cameron Stuart said reparation would be sought.
The pair were remanded on bail and would be sentenced in July.