GREENPEACE SEIZES ROCKALL: ACTIVISTS IN SURVIVAL CAPSULE CLAIM "OIL ROCK" FOR THE PLANET

11 June 97

Last night at 21.40 hours, BST, Greenpeace activists staged a dramatic occupation of the barren and tiny island of Rockall in the Atlantic Ocean - 289 miles from the Scottish mainland. Rockall lies at the heart of the Atlantic Frontier, an area earmarked for oil exploration.

A Greenpeace helicopter air-lifted a bright yellow capsule from the MV Greenpeace onto a rocky ledge on the side of the island. The custom built Solar Survival Capsule is a 3.6 metre long (12 feet) by 1.8 metre wide (6 ft) pod weighing just 349 kg. It will provide a campaign base for activists monitoring and communicating the expansion of oil fields into the Atlantic Frontier. Greenpeace opposes new oil developments on the grounds of climate change.

Suspended from the helicopter, the Solar Survival Capsule was secured to the rock by activists who had already landed. They used steel pins screwed into the rock and heavy duty straps. The capsule has been built from ultra-modern composite materials to withstand the most hostile environment since Rockall is regularly lashed by ferocious storms, and to provide a base for a 2-3 person crew for an indefinite period.

"The seas around Rockall, potentially rich in oil, are fought over by four nations - Britain, Denmark, Iceland and Ireland. By seizing Rockall we claim her seas for the planet and all its peoples.

No-one has the right to unleash this oil onto our threatened climate,"

said Al one of the three Greenpeace activists inside the capsule.

Over thirty oil companies are currently exploring or trying to open oil fields in the Atlantic Frontier. The Department of Trade and Industry encourages this, while Tony Blair, Michael Meacher and Robin Cook have all called for action on climate change.

"Science shows the climate cannot survive the burning of the oil we've already got," said Chris Rose, Greenpeace Campaign Director. "It is an insane and hypocritical policy to look for more. Greenpeace disputes the moral and political right of the UK to develop this ocean for more oil."

After provisions were transferred from the ship to the Solar Survival Capsule, the first crew, two men, from Britain and Australia, and a woman, from Germany, installed themselves inside the capsule and the other activists withdrew to the ship. Inside the capsule the activists are equipped with advanced computing and communications systems, powered by solar and wind generated electricity.

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