Danish flag

Russian oil tankers blocked off Danish coast by Greenpeace activists

On Thursday 31st March, Greenpeace activists blocked the pathway between two tankers carrying Russian oil off the coast of Denmark.

Greenpeace called the protest as part of a band on the import of fossil fuels from Russia after the invasion of Ukraine.

Talking to AFP, Greenpeace spokeswoman, Emma Oehlenschlager, explains, “At 11:00 am (0900 GMT), activists began the blockade of the supertanker Pertamina Prime, preventing the other ship Seaoath from approaching it and blocking the transfer of oil.”

Activists rode kayaks or swam in the waters off of Frederikshavn, North of Denmark, to block the path. The activists managed to then paint “Oil fuels war” on the hull of the Pertamina Prime, one of the two tankers.

In March, Greenpeace carried out various actions against Russian vessels conducting oil transfers within Danish waters, although this was the first successful blockade.

Oehlenschlager comments, “This is the only time we’ve managed to stop the delivery. In the other instances, the tankers either diverted or accelerated.”