Greenpeace activists who stormed Gazprom's Prirazlomnaya oil rig Friday have again taken action against the rig.
Early Monday morning, inflatables launched from the Greenpeace vessel Arctic Sunrise approached the Anna Akhmatova, a supply vessel that carries workers to and from the rig, and attached themselves to the vessel's anchor chain.
Greenpeace said that by 9 a.m. Monday morning 14 activists from 10 different countries were in boats attached to the Anna Akhmatova, preventing it from raising anchor and moving to the rig to complete work necessary for it to start drilling work.
The group said a "tense standoff" was underway. The Russian coast guard is reported to be on the scene but has not yet intervened.
On Friday, six Greenpeace activists scaled the side of the rig and displayed banners that said "Save the Arctic" and "Don't kill the Arctic." They left after 15 hours, accusing Gazprom workers of spraying them with cold water and throwing metal fragments at them.
Gazprom Neft Shelf's Prirazlomnaya oil platform is the world's first ice-resistant oil rig and is expected to produce more than 6 million tons of oil a year when fully operational. The Prirazlomnoye oil field, beneath shallow waters in the Pechora Sea, is thought to hold about 70 million tons of oil.
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