Shell settles lawsuit against Greenpeace over activists boarding oil vessel

Shell has reportedly settled a London lawsuit it brought against environmental group Greenpeace after activists boarded a Shell oil production vessel last year.

As reported by Reuters, Greenpeace said it had agreed to pay 300,000 pounds ($382,650) to the Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI), a charity that runs a search and rescue service.

The group also said it would stop protesting for a period at four Shell sites in the northern North Sea, which Greenpeace referred to as “mostly declining fields,” though Shell described them as “key oil and gas platforms.” 

Shell said Greenpeace’s agreement to make a payment to the RNLI recognized its concern that Greenpeace’s protest at sea was “a serious risk to safety and life.” 

But Greenpeace, as reported by Reuters, said Shell had settled because suing environmental campaigners “became a PR millstone tied around its neck.” 

Shell took legal action after Greenpeace activists boarded a vessel in January 2023 near the Canary Islands off the Atlantic coast of northern Africa to protest against oil drilling, travelling on it as far as Norway.

The vessel was destined for the Penguins oil and gas field in the North Sea, which is not yet in production. Four Greenpeace activists used ropes to hoist themselves onto the vessel from inflatable boats that chased the ship at high speed.

Greenpeace previously said Shell was seeking up to $2.1 million, including costs related to shipping delays and expenses for extra security, though Shell’s lawsuit sought slightly less than $1 million, the Reuters report said. 

Greenpeace is separately involved in a legal challenge to Britain’s approval for the development of Shell’s Jackdaw gas field, which was heard in a Scottish court last month.