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Greenpeace maneuvers pose threat to navigation safety

In violation of the existing law the intruder ship had no flag of its territorial jurisdiction

MOSCOW, August 27 (Itar-Tass) - The maneuvers of Greenpeace activists in the area of the Academik Lazarev's geophysical research of the Arctic shelf have posed a threat to the navigation safety and thwarted the research schedule, the FSB Public Relations Center told Itar-Tass on Tuesday.

On August 26 the Russian costal guard ship - the Viktor Kingissepp, which belongs to the Murmansk department of the FSB coastal guard service, visually established an incident of the violation of the existing law by the Arctic Sunrise ship sailing under the colors of the Netherlands. The incident occurred in Russia's exclusive economic zone in the Kara Sea 70 miles north off the White island (Beliy Ostrov), the FSB source said.

In violation of the existing law the intruder ship had no flag of its territorial jurisdiction. Besides, the authorities in charge of the Northern Sea Route reported that the intruder ship had no permission to navigation along water ways of the Northern Sea Route, the FSB center said.

It reminded of a previous incident on August 13 when Greenpeace activists attempted "to inspect" the Academik Lazarev, which had been doing research for the Russian Rosneft company, from board the intruder ship. The Greenpeace activists had been hazardously maneuvering on small floating facilities in close proximity to the Akademik Lazarev, which violated the norms of the navigation safety and might have thwarted the Akademik Lazarev's research, FSB said. The captain of the Russian coastal guard ship made a decision to inspect the Arctic Sunrise, which had to obey the order to hoist its flag. No other claims to the Arctic Sunrise were made then. The Russian side filled a protocol about the inspection, which was signed by the "Sunrise" captain.

At present, the Arctic Sunrise continues to sail along its route. The ship captain was warned that the Arctic Sunrise must comply with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the national legislation on the rules of the navigation down the Northern Sea Route.The Arctic Sunrise' maneuvers have been watched from board the Viktor Kingissepp, FSB said.

In 2012 the Greenpeace used the Arctic Sunrise for the organization of provocative acts at Russian facilities in the Barents Sea, including the "Arctic Rescue" act aimed at thwarting the development of the resources of the Arctic shelf.

Despite the Greepeace' provocative acts the Academik Lazarev will continue the research of the Arctic shelf, Rosneft told Itar-Tass earlier. The Rosneft and its western partners have been conducting the research, observing all the international requirements and ecological standards. The sophisticated technologies used for the exploration of the geological situation of the region and its shelf zones cannot produce a negative effect on the ecology of this region, the Rosneft press service stressed.