# 2 Canadian protestors on Greenpeace ship arrested by Russian Coast Guard



## CougarKing (19 Sep 2013)

From SUN News:



> *Greenpeace says two Canadians are among 25 crew members of the its ship Arctic Sunrise arrested and detained by the Russian coast guard after they protested Gazprom's Arctic oil drilling operations.*
> 
> At the time of the boarding, Greenpeace said the Arctic Sunrise was circling Gazprom's Prirazlomnaya platform at the three nautical mile limit, inside international waters.
> 
> ...


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## Teflon (19 Sep 2013)

Good to see the Russians doing us a favour - With any luck they will decide to keep them


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## Fishbone Jones (19 Sep 2013)

Hope they try them and dump 'em in Siberia for 10 years.

They trespassed and broke the law.


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## Oldgateboatdriver (20 Sep 2013)

recceguy said:
			
		

> Hope they try them and dump 'em in Siberia for 10 years.
> 
> They trespassed and broke the law.



Lord knows I am not a fan of Greenpeace, but actually, Recceguy, they did NOT trespass and were in a perfectly legitimate location as far as maritime law is concerned. The act by the Russian Coastguard is a clear violation of this law.

The EEZ's around a country remains international waters and no country has the right to remove any vessel from these waters, which can be be freely accessed by all. The EEZ's only provide for the coastal nation's exclusive right to regulate economic activity occurring in these waters - not to extend its laws over the territory, which remains limited to territorial waters (12 Nautical Miles). According to the story, they were about 60 NM from the Russian coast, so in the EEZ, BUT in international waters.

Funny enough, the protection of Canada's maritime interests in International waters, which includes the protection of Canadian merchant seaman, befalls the RCN.   Where are the AOPS !!!!!! - just kidding.


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## Fishbone Jones (20 Sep 2013)

Well, if I read the article right, they attempted to board the rig from inflatables and got chased off.

That would be no different than a pirate trying to board another ship without permission, in my mind.


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## The Bread Guy (20 Sep 2013)

recceguy said:
			
		

> Well, if I read the article right, they attempted to board the rig from inflatables and got chased off.
> 
> That would be no different than a pirate trying to board another ship without permission, in my mind.


Or, if the rig is owned by a company, folks trying to get into a refinery uninvited.


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## Fishbone Jones (20 Sep 2013)

milnews.ca said:
			
		

> Or, if the rig is owned by a company, folks trying to get into a refinery uninvited.



Bingo.

Both serious and potentially dangerous actions that would warrant the intervention of the authorities.

EEZ's or not.


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## The Bread Guy (20 Sep 2013)

recceguy said:
			
		

> Bingo.
> 
> Both serious and potentially dangerous actions that would warrant the intervention of the authorities.
> 
> EEZ's or not.


Not to mention shareholders wanting some protection of the asset.


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## CougarKing (20 Sep 2013)

From the RT website:



> A handout photo taken by Greenpeace on September 18, 2013, shows Greenpeace activists boarding Gazprom's 'Prirazlomnaya' Arctic oil platform somewhere off Russia north-eastern coast in the Pechora Sea.



For a bunch of tree huggers, these Greenpeace protestors sure are well equipped, having cruiser suits, helmets and RHIBs similar to those we used in the CCG Auxiliary. This- from an organization who constantly sends naive young people with clipboards out on the streets of Toronto or Vancouver to solicit funds for their cause...  :


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## Oldgateboatdriver (20 Sep 2013)

I wish it was that simple - oh! and shareholders or owners don't come into the equation, unfortunately.

First of all, the mere act of coming onboard someone else's ship without permission does not constitute piracy. There is the little matter of use of force with intent to deprive the owner of his/her property or to deprive them of their lives. This was clearly not present here. If it had been piracy, the nation under whose flag the vessel or structure is operated (here, Russia) would have the right to try the accused as such (which is why, for instance, when we apprehend pirates along the coast of Somalia as a result of an attack on a merchant, we have to find if the state of the merchant ship flag wants to prosecute and only if so, turn the captives over to them - otherwise, we have to return the pirates to their ship - minus their weapons of course).

As this is not piracy, the Russians had no right to board the Arctic Sunrise on the high seas (which is where it was all the time, having never entered Russian territorial waters) without their permission or with the permission of the state under which flag it sailed - in this case Norway. The boats that entered into the safety zone (the exclusion zone around the platform - which is still international waters) were legitimate targets of Russia to remove them from the zone and the ones who made it unto the platform (and only them) were legitimate criminal subject to arrest at the platform but not on Norwegian territory (the Arctic Sunrise) but in all cases, they could only be arrested to be returned to Norway for prosecution under its laws.

These things are all pretty complex areas of international law - but that is the nature of the application of laws and force on the high seas. These things do not follow or conform to the rules we are used to on land, where borders determine the applicable laws and police powers.


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## The Bread Guy (20 Sep 2013)

S.M.A. said:
			
		

> For a bunch of tree huggers, these Greenpeace protestors sure are well equipped, having cruiser suits, helmets and RHIBs similar to those we used in the CCG Auxiliary. This- from an organization who constantly sends naive young people with clipboards out on the streets of Toronto or Vancouver to solicit funds for their cause...  :


It would be unwise to underestimate the ingenuity of these folks.  Years ago, they rented a cube van and blocked a railway track coming out of a pulp mill in northern Ontario to protest the use of chlorine in the process.  Two of them figured out a way to crawl under the van, run their hands through a pipe they ran over the drive train and handcuff themselves together, giving the senior firefighter on scene (with 30+ years experience at that point) "the toughest puzzle I've ever had to solve" to get them out.   

And THAT'S the trouble they'd go to for a paper mill in northern Ontario - imagine bigger targets.


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## The Bread Guy (20 Sep 2013)

Oldgateboatdriver said:
			
		

> .... the mere act of coming onboard someone else's ship without permission does not constitute piracy. There is the little matter of use of force with intent to *deprive the owner of his/her property* or to deprive them of their lives. This was clearly not present here ....


How about depriving the owner the use of his/her property?  This from the Greenpeace Info-machine (highlight mine):


> .... Greenpeace International activist Sini Saarela, 31, is currently on the platform. She said:
> 
> “This rusty oil platform is an Arctic disaster waiting to happen. We’re hundreds of miles away from emergency response vessels or independent observers, but right next to a pristine Arctic environment that’s home to polar bears, walruses and rare seabirds.”
> 
> “*Last year we blocked this platform for five days and we’re back to stop Gazprom for good*. This is an era defining battle - do we allow vast companies to drill for more of the oil that’s melting the Arctic and wrecking our climate, or do we draw a line in the ice and say ‘enough’?” ....


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## Fishbone Jones (20 Sep 2013)

Sounds like a legitimate threat of violence to me.

Along with trespassing.

Next time instead of dicking around with all this maritime hoodoo sovereignty crap, they should just shoot them off the wall and let them "sleep wid da fishis"

Cause you can always depend on Greenpeace to adhere to Maritime law :  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gr55mQI2la8

But every once in a while, they run into (literally) some one that won't take their shit.  ;D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anXPPTk-jY8

Batman's gonna be pissed when he gets his boat back :rofl:


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## Fishbone Jones (20 Sep 2013)

It's too bad this wasn't part of the 'The Air Force blew up this tiny ‘pirate boat’ with a 2,000-pound smart bomb' thread ;D


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## Oldgateboatdriver (25 Sep 2013)

So now they have been charged with "piracy" in Russia.

We'll see how that turns out in the application of the legal criteria. Though, this being Russia and a trial in defense of the interest of friends of the powers that be, a fair trial is out of the question. I am afraid they are about to be sent to have a little retreat with P*ssy Riot at their current "camp".


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## GAP (25 Sep 2013)

Oldgateboatdriver said:
			
		

> So now they have been charged with "piracy" in Russia.
> 
> We'll see how that turns out in the application of the legal criteria. Though, this being Russia and a trial in defense of the interest of friends of the powers that be, a fair trial is out of the question. I am afraid they are about to be sent to have a little retreat with P*ssy Riot at their current "camp".



Proof again that actions have consequences.......gulag time will refocus their priorities....


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## Fishbone Jones (25 Sep 2013)

Oldgateboatdriver said:
			
		

> So now they have been charged with "piracy" in Russia.



Wow. Imagine that.


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## Good2Golf (25 Sep 2013)

Green peace should replace their media spokesperson...the woman on CTV Newsnet was the least convincing person I've ever heard try to convince people that boarding a private vessel without permission was not only acceptable, but a moral responsibility.  Lots of UMMMs and UHHHs, when asked what they did was legal...should have been a well-rehearsed, "Absolutely! Here's why....." 

While 'piracy' may be a legal stretch according to international maritime law (unless the intent was to actually seize control of the rig...which does not appear to be the case), there still remains the issue that the owner of the rig did not give the demonstrators permission to board. Flag of registration (as it relates to endorsement of action by policing forces to assist in controlling a vessel against unauthorized action) notwithstanding, if the master of a vessel does not give permission of a non-official/non-authority to board the vessel, that's it...trespassing at the least.

As others have said, actions result in counter-actions, the basis of which are apparently open to interpretation by any number of organizations.  Seems like Norwegian registration notwithstanding, the Russians are interpreting the actions as attempted piracy.  Perhaps some folks are now rethinking their assumption that self-believed moral supremacy will cause all others to yield and bow in abeyance.  Good luck with that...


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## Kirkhill (25 Sep 2013)

I thought the whole point of a vessel carrying a flag on the high seas was that it was declaring which sovereign law it followed.  

So if the vessel sported a Stew Pot Over Embers, and declared according to national custom that trespassers would be eaten then that might be an advisum to potential stowaways that they consider their options carefully.

The fact that in the real world nobody is currently declaring judicial cannibalism as a national policy, due to queasy stomachs and a desire to be seen as civilized, is neither here nor there.


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## Navy_Pete (25 Sep 2013)

This seems like a really bad idea on Greenpeace's part; will try and find the article, but a few years ago the russian navy captured some pirates off Somalia, dragged their boat a few hundred meters away, then blew it up quoting some maritime treaty from the 1400s that was never repealed.

But really, what did they expect to happen?  I'm guessing this is a publicity stunt dreamed up by some higher up using the folks on the ground as pawns.  They are lucky no one got hurt.


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## Journeyman (26 Sep 2013)

Navy_Pete said:
			
		

> I'm guessing this is a publicity stunt dreamed up by some higher up using the folks on the ground as pawns.


I've crossed paths with quite a few 'social activists.'  The lower-level people can be even more retarded enthusiastic than those who have migrated upwards.  For the higher-ups, being the globe's social conscience has become their employment -- keeping that paycheque coming in tends to provide a slightly different timbre when singing kumbaya.



> They are lucky no one got hurt.


...yet.


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## The Bread Guy (26 Sep 2013)

Navy_Pete said:
			
		

> This seems like a really bad idea on Greenpeace's part; will try and find the article, but a few years ago the russian navy captured some pirates off Somalia, dragged their boat a few hundred meters away, then blew it up quoting some maritime treaty from the 1400s that was never repealed.


Here's some video, and here's a bit on Russia's "catch and release" approach  ;D


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## The Bread Guy (26 Sep 2013)

Latest from Russia:  they screwed up, but they're not pirates ....


> President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday Greenpeace activists arrested for staging a protest at Russia's first Arctic offshore oil platform had violated international law but signaled they should not face charges of piracy.
> 
> Russian authorities seized the activists' ship and towed it to shore after two tried to scale the rig to protest against Russian plans to drill for oil in the Arctic, which they say poses a threat to the fragile eco-system.
> 
> ...


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## Robert0288 (26 Sep 2013)

Thought I should just leave this here


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## GAP (2 Oct 2013)

Poor puppies...... :


Greenpeace crew in 'shock' in Russian jails
Published October 01, 2013 AFP
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/10/01/greenpeace-crew-in-shock-in-russian-jails/?intcmp=obinsite



Moscow (AFP) –  Greenpeace crew members detained in Russian jails for two months over their open-sea protest against Arctic oil drilling are "close to shock" over their conditions, a rights activist said Tuesday.

The 30 detained are being held in pre-trial detention centres in the cities of Murmansk and Apatity, which are nearly 2,000 kilometres (1,250 miles) north of Moscow and above the Arctic Circle.

All but four of the activists are non-Russians from countries including Britain, the United States, Finland and Argentina.

Russia has jailed the activists from Greenpeace's Arctic Sunrise protest ship without charge pending an investigation into alleged piracy, after several scaled a state-owned oil rig on September 18.

The activists have complained of cold cells and a lack of suitable clothing and food, said Irina Paikacheva, the head of a state-connected regional prisoners' rights watchdog.

"Many of them are in a state close to shock," she told AFP after visiting the prisoners. "They had never expected that they would face such consequences for their peaceful protest in a democratic state."

The foreign detainees are struggling to make themselves understood since virtually none of the prison staff speaks English, she said. One of the activists has consulted a psychologist.

Several of the foreign nationals have been placed in cells with Russians even though this breaches Russian law, Paikacheva added.

A Polish activist is sharing a cell with four Russians, while one of the British activists has two Russian cellmates, both accused of robbery.

Several non-smoking activists also complain of being placed in cells with chain-smokers.

Greenpeace spokesman Aaron Gray-Block said in e-mailed comments that several of the detained activists "need prescription medication".

"A number of others are taking over the counter medications such as paracetamol for problems such as mild arthritis and back pain," he said.

A young Finnish female activist is a vegan and unable to eat prison food, Paikacheva said, adding that prison officials had denied her request for vitamins to be delivered to her.

Under Russian law, prisoners have to hand in their watches and wear shoes without laces. The Finnish activist lacks a thyroid gland and needs to take medicine regularly -- hard to do without a watch.
end


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## Journeyman (2 Oct 2013)

GAP said:
			
		

> .....virtually none of the prison staff speaks English
> 
> .....non-smoking activists also complain of being placed in cells with chain-smokers.
> 
> ...


      :rofl:


"They had never expected that they would face such consequences"  
Yep; that whole 'responsibility for one's behaviour' thing sure sucks


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## The Bread Guy (2 Oct 2013)

GAP said:
			
		

> .... "They had never expected that they would face such consequences for their peaceful protest in a democratic state." ....


And I guess if someone trespassed on THEIR property, they'd see it as "peaceful protest"?

I guess they never read the bits saying it may actutally be a bit better in Russian prisons these days than in the past.  Their mileage may vary, though  ;D


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## Old Sweat (2 Oct 2013)

Watch the organization use this as a major fund raiser; after all is said and done that is what Greenpeace has become. With that in mind, what was conceived as a more or less normal publicity stunt, can and probably will be turned into a financial bonanza! 

I am not being sarcastic.


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## The Bread Guy (2 Oct 2013)

Old Sweat said:
			
		

> Watch the organization use this as a major fund raiser; after all is said and done that is what Greenpeace has become. With that in mind, what was conceived as a more or less normal publicity stunt, can and probably will be turned into a financial bonanza!
> 
> I am not being sarcastic.


You're bang on.  Just like terrorist attack videos, it's "propaganda of the deed".


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## GAP (20 Nov 2013)

Russia grants bail to 2 more in case against 30 arrested in Greenpeace Arctic drilling protest
Published November 20, 2013 Associated Press
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/11/20/russia-grants-bail-to-2-more-in-case-against-30-arrested-in-greenpeace-arctic/



MOSCOW –  A Russian court has granted bail to two more of the 30 people who were arrested following a Greenpeace protest against oil drilling in the Arctic.

Greenpeace said that St. Petersburg's Primorsky Court agreed Wednesday to release Faiza Oulahsen of the Netherlands and Alexandra Harris of Britain on bail of 2 million rubles ($61,500) each.

Courts had already agreed this week to free 12 people pending trial, but refused to release an Australian activist and ordered him held until February.

The 30 people aboard a Greenpeace ship were detained in September and have been in custody ever since. It is unclear whether the foreign activists would be allowed to leave the country.

They were initially charged with piracy, but investigators later said they would be tried on charges of hooliganism.
end


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