A federal judge on Tuesday will consider a request by Royal Dutch Shell PLC for an injunction against illegal boarding of Arctic-bound drilling equipment by activists from Greenpeace Inc.
U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason on April 11 granted Shell a restraining order to keep Greenpeace from entering a safety zone around a semi-submersible drill rig, the Polar Pioneer, and a heavy lift ship carrying it from Malaysia to Washington state.
Shell hopes to drill exploratory wells this summer in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska’s northwest coast.
Conservation groups oppose Arctic drilling and say oil companies have not demonstrated they can clean up a major spill in the remote region.
Six Greenpeace activists on April 6 boarded the ship carrying the Polar Pioneer as it traveled northwest of Hawaii.
