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Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise Case

Greenpeace Russia: Arctic Sunrise may sink if technical problems not solved

Greenpeace Russia lawyer: "The icebreaker fulfills all the criteria of safety, but like any vessel requires constant monitoring and servicing by trained staff"

Photo EPA/KATE DAVISON

Photo EPA/KATE DAVISON

MOSCOW, October 7. (ITAR-TASS). - The Arctic Sunrise ship, located in the port of Murmansk, may sink if its technical problems are solved. This was announced today at a press conference, by Greenpeace Russia lawyer Anton Beneslavsky.

He noted that October 4, the investigators urgently summoned the mechanics of Arctic Sunrise from the detention facility and brought them back to the ship for inspection. “Greenpeace lawyers obtained a document in which the icebreaker’s mechanic lists the ship’s technical problems – and these problems threaten to flood the ice-breaker,” Beneslavsky said. “If the Arctic Sunrise will be flooded, it can lead to serious pollution of the Kola Bay.” He noted that “the icebreaker fulfills all the criteria of safety, but like any vessel requires constant monitoring and servicing by trained staff; while the vessel is under control of the Coast Guard, nothing happens”.

On September 18, the Arctic Sunrise ship approached the Prirazlomnaya offshore oil drilling platform and the Greenpeace activists who were on the vessel, attempted to board the platform. Their actions were stopped by officers of the Border Guard Department of Murmansk Oblast’s FSB, after which the vessel was taken in tow to Murmansk port. The investigators opened a criminal case over piracy, but they do not rule out that the charges may be softened. A total of 30 crewmembers of the ship - representatives of 19 countries, were detained. Currently they are held in several detention facilities in the Murmansk Region. All of the activists were charged.

Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise Case

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