Greenpeace settles lawsuit with Shell over North Sea protest

Greenpeace has reached an out-of-court settlement with Shell in a multi-million-dollar lawsuit filed by the oil major after protestors boarded a heavy-lift vessel transporting an FPSO in 2023.

Greenpeace said in a press statement that in the final settlement, it did not accept liability nor pay any money to Shell, instead agreeing to donate £300,000 (US$380,000) to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). Shell had been seeking £1.7M (US$2.1M) in damages in the lawsuit. Additionally, as part of the settlement, Greenpeace agreed not to protest at four Shell offshore oil and gas sites in the North Sea. The protestors will not be allowed to travel within 500 m of three Shell sites for five years and one Shell site for 10 years.

The lawsuit was filed by Shell after Greenpeace protestors boarded the heavy-lift ship White Marlin near the Canary Islands in the Atlantic in January 2023. The activists occupied the heavy-lift ship, which was carrying an FPSO, for 13 days during its transit to the Penguins oilfield. Using inflatable rafts to reach the vessel, the fossil fuel protestors hoisted themselves up on White Marlin and the Penguins FPSO using ropes.

In a statement reported by the BBC, a Shell spokesperson said it was pleased the case had been settled.

“For Shell, the right to protest is fundamental and has never been at issue. Instead, this case was about an illegal boarding by protesters which a High Court judge described as ‘putting their lives and, indirectly, the lives of the crew at risk’.

“He was also clear that Greenpeace could still protest from a safe distance and their human rights were not infringed,” reported the BBC.

Greenpeace UK co-executive director Areeba Hamid vowed the environmental group would continue to protest against oil and gas development “until the fossil fuel industry stops drilling and starts paying for the damage it is causing to people and planet.”