British oil giant Shell said Thursday that it has hit Greenpeace with a USD 2.1-million lawsuit to recover costs after campaigners from the environmental group occupied a vessel earlier this year.
Greenpeace protesters boarded the White Marlin vessel for several days at the start of 2023, demanding the fossil-fuel giant stop drilling and pay for its climate impact.
The vessel was first boarded just north of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean as it carried an oil and gas platform to the Penguins field, situated close to the Scottish Shetland Islands in the North Sea.
Shell said in a statement Thursday that it was suing Greenpeace to claw back its “significant” expenditure on legal, safety and security costs which it argued sought to protect staff and demonstrators alike.
According to documents obtained by AFP, Shell is seeking USD 2.1 million in damages, mainly linked to costs incurred by subcontractor Fluor, which was responsible for building and transporting the platform.
The claim could rise by USD 6.5 million should Fluor decide to pursue claims for additional losses.
Greenpeace revealed a Shell proposal for reduced damages of USD 1.4 million should the environmental group agree “to never protest on its infrastructure again, at sea or in port anywhere in the world”.
Greenpeace said they would accept if “Shell agreed to stop wrecking the climate”.
Shell said it respected “the right to protest… But it must be done safely and lawfully”.
“Shell and its contractors are entitled to recover the significant costs of responding to Greenpeace’s dangerous actions,” it added.
Greenpeace slammed the “intimidation lawsuit”, adding that it represented “one of the biggest level threats” in more than half a century of the campaign organisation’s protests.
The London-listed company insisted its action was “about preventing activities at sea or in port which could endanger peoples’ lives… nothing more”.
