Activists from the environmental protection organization Greenpeace staged their protest in the North Sea against the planned natural gas production off the Dutch and German coasts. With three floating islands they are blocking the installation of a drilling platform some 20 kilometers north of the Dutch Wadden Island Schiermonnikoog. Greenpeace will not withdraw, said a spokesman for the German Press Agency in Amsterdam.
About twenty German and Dutch activists anchored the floating protest camp at the planned drilling site on Tuesday and are protesting for the protection of the Wadden Sea. The Dutch energy company One-Dyas wants to drill for natural gas there. After the court gave the green light, the company plans to install the platform this week. Natural gas will then be produced from December.
One-Dyas had warned that the protest could endanger the safety of workers and the environment. The large crane platform and a ship with construction materials were temporarily shut down. The protests were peaceful, according to Greenpeace spokesman Maarten de Zeeuw. “We are at sea and do not touch any property of One-Dyas.”
One-Dyas wants to extract natural gas from a field near the islands of Borkum and Schiermonnikoog. But environmental protection associations and islanders in Germany and the Netherlands fear damage to the adjacent UNESCO World Heritage site Wadden Sea. Legal actions in court have so far failed. In the Netherlands, a procedure is now underway at the highest administrative court.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:240731-930-189828/1
Activists from the environmental protection organization Greenpeace staged their protest in the North Sea against the planned natural gas production off the Dutch and German coasts. With three floating islands they are blocking the installation of a drilling platform some 20 kilometers north of the Dutch Wadden Island Schiermonnikoog. Greenpeace will not withdraw, said a spokesman for the German Press Agency in Amsterdam.
About twenty German and Dutch activists anchored the floating protest camp at the planned drilling site on Tuesday and are protesting for the protection of the Wadden Sea. The Dutch energy company One-Dyas wants to drill for natural gas there. After the court gave the green light, the company plans to install the platform this week. Natural gas will then be produced from December.