A federal judge has ordered representatives of Greenpeace USA to stay a kilometer away from Shell Oil’s drilling vessels destined for Arctic Ocean waters off Alaska’s northern shores.
The 29-page order signed Wednesday by Judge Sharon Gleason in Anchorage grants a preliminary injunction requested by Shell through October 31, the end of the open water drilling season. A 500-meter safety zone is in place for support vessels.
Shell sought the injunction after Greenpeace New Zealand activists in February boarded the Shell drill ship Noble Discoverer before it left for the U.S. West Coast for cold-weather modifications. The activists were arrested.
