Six environmental activists from the Greenpeace International occupied a Russian oil platform on Friday to protest against drilling for oil in the Arctic. 

      The group of activists, lead by Greenpeace executive director Kumi Naidoo, came to the "Prirazlomnaya" oil drilling platform in the Pechora Sea in motor boats and climbed aboard using a mooring line. They managed to block all the platform's operations because safety rules prohibit it from working with intruders on the rig. The occupied platform is operated by Gazprom.

       The attack is a part of a Greenpeace’s big campaign against drilling in the Arctic. In particular, the activists accuse Gazprom of having an outmoded plan for emergency situations on the platform, which could lead to huge oil spills and harm to the delicate balance of the Arctic.

      Then, on Monday, Naidoo and 13 other activists approached the vessel Anna Akhmatova, which ferries oil workers to the Prirazlomnaya rig, and chained themselves to the vessel's anchor. Sailors aboard the ship doused them with high-pressure water cannons.

      The activists ended their protest actions on Tuesday saying the battle for the Arctic still continues.

       Within Russia's big project for exploration of Arctic oil reserves, Gazprom has promised to start drilling this summer and begin oil production by early next year.