Greenpeace ambassador and film and TV star Lucy Lawless along with six other activists were convicted Thursday for attempting to stop an oil drilling ship. They were each sentenced to 120 hours of community service for occupying the Arctic bound ship last year, said the press release.
In February 2012, Lawless and six volunteers from Greenpeace targeted a Shell chartered oil rig in New Plymouth, New Zealand. The group occupied the 174-foot drilling derrick of the ship, Noble Discoverer at Port Taranaki and opened banners in protest of the vessel's intent to look for oil in waters off Alaska.
It was a move that grabbed the world's attention. During the four day protest, over 135,000 supporters of the cause emailed executives at Shell demanding them to cancel oil drilling plans in the Arctic. Supporters also took to social media, as thousands of people tweeted messages in support of Lawless with the hashtag #savethearctic, which were also on the banners in protest of the drilling.
"We did what we came to do," said Lawless. Together we sent a clear message to Shell that has echoed across the globe - it's time to draw a line in the ice and say: enough." said Lawless before being arrested last year.
Speaking outside Taranaki District Court, Lawless said, "We are proud to have taken part in our attempt to stop Shell's reckless plans to drill for oil in the pristine Arctic. "Since we occupied the Noble Discoverer, it has become evident to everyone watching, from the millions who have signed Greenpeace petitions to the US Government now examining Shell's plans that it can never be safe to drill in the Arctic," she said.
Others sentenced as a result of the protest were Raoni Hammer from Lyttleton, Mike Buchanan from Diamond Harbour, Shayne Comino from Lyttleton, Viv Hadlow from Auckland, Shai Naides from Spain, Zach Penman from Hamilton and Ilai Amir from Auckland.
The Greenpeace group was also ordered to pay a total of NZ$5210 ($4,392) in fines to the Port of Taranaki. Shell's damages claim totaling about NZ$650,000 ($547,996) was declined by the court. The group's attorney, Ron Mansfield called the claim "excessive".
