In Anchorage, U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason ordered Greenpeace USA to pay $2,500 to Shell Offshore, Inc. and Shell Gulf of Mexico, Inc. for every hour protesters block the departure of Shell’s ship, the Fennica.
The protesters rappelled from the bridge yesterday, accompanied by kayakers below, stating they were prepared to stay for days if necessary.
The Fennica turned back this morning after encountering the protesters, making it the second Shell shipped delayed by protesters in the ships’ initial travel to the Arctic.
Once the Fennica arrives in the Arctic it will provide the the company’s critical emergency response equipment and Shell can drill to necessary well depths.
Anne Seneca with Consumer Energy Alliance says Alaska’s further oil and gas exploration granted with last week’s federal decision affects the entire nation by being less reliant on foreign oil.
Seneca: “A lot of people know, I don’t know how well in the Lower 48 they know, how important Alaskan energy is to our nation and our national security. We are an oil dependent nation and Alaska’s backbone is the oil industry.”
Seneca says concerns commonly heard in the Lower 48 have already been addressed.
Seneca: “The permitting and the strict regulations that are in place in 2015 are a lot different than they were back in 1989, or even just 10 years ago they are a lot more strict. So it is kind of uncharted territory however these companies wouldn’t be staking millions of dollars if they weren’t sure that it would be safe.”
The alliance will premiere a docu-series on the Trans Alaska Pipeline next week in Anchorage and later in Washington D.C. to show how important Alaska’s oil and gas exploration is on a national level.