Activists protest Shell Arctic oil drilling ship in BC waters

Shell Arctic oil drilling ship moving through Inside Passage

A group of environmentalists and First Nations opposed to Shell Arctic oil exploration are protesting the company’s movements through BC’s Inside Passage.

Shell Arctic oil protestors argue increased tanker traffic in the area could be disastrous.  Greenpeace photo.

International environmental organization Greenpeace says Royal Dutch Shell is transporting its oil-spill-containment vessel, the Arctic Challenger, up B.C.’s coastline to the Aleutian Peninsula in Alaska.

Chief Calvin Craigan of the Sechelt First Nation says increased tanker traffic in the region could be disastrous and that Shell should be banned from the area.

The company’s controversial ambitions to drill for oil in the Arctic Ocean have drawn widespread criticism.

Last week a pair of activists locked themselves to the Arctic Challenger’s anchor chain in Washington state to delay the vessel’s departure.

Earlier in the month hundreds of kayak activists swarmed a bay in Seattle, Wash., to protest Shell’s plans.

The Canadian Press