Greenpeace activists have climbed a Russian oil rig in the Arctic to protest against commercial drilling.
The ice resistant platform is the first of its kind in the world. Workers on board are preparing to become the first to commercially drill in the polar region early next year.
Environmentalists approached the Prirazlomnaya platform at 4am on Friday (local time), scaling the rig before attaching a "portaledge" to the side of it.
The activists include Greenpeace executive director Kumi Naidoo, who held up a banner that said in Russian: "Save the Arctic!"
He told Sky News that temperatures of 5C (41F) were being made worse by workers' actions.
"They are harassing us by hosing us with icy water which is very dangerous - though we are hearing rumours that we won?t be arrested today," he said.
Greenpeace says Gazprom's oil spill response plan expired in July. The environmental ground claims that the company has not submitted or approved a new one according to the Russian Ministry of Emergency.
Earlier Kumi Naidoo tweeted: ?Helicopters are here (we?re told to arrest us.) We remain resolute in our actions; what we did here today was necessary to shine a light."
He later tweeted that they "being sprayed relentlessly with ice water but our tea is still warm! No police, coast guards or border guards til tmrw morn".
Greenpeace?s website said: "Jens, Sini, Basil, Terry, Lars and Kumi (from Germany, Finland, USA, Canada, Germany and South Africa respectively) are currently safe and well, securely anchored in place to the superstructure of Gazprom?s monster Arctic drilling platform the Prirazlomnaya in the Pechora Sea.
"The climbers are in great spirits, have supplies to last for an extended stay and are in a good position for future re-supplies."
Many oil and gas companies see the far north of the Arctic region as the next frontier for fossil fuel exploration.
Last year, the US Geological Survey estimated the Arctic could be home to 30% of the world's undiscovered natural gas reserves and 13% of its undiscovered oil.
But environmental campaigners have warned that the harsh conditions in the Arctic could hamper any emergency response in the case of an oil spill.
Source: http://news.sky.com/story/976689
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