Greenpeace stages second Arctic protest

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MOSCOW, Aug. 27 (UPI) -- Greenpeace activists chained themselves in protest to a Russian ship carrying workers to an Arctic Ocean oil drilling rig Monday, the Greenpeace Web site said.

The 14 demonstrators, including Kumi Naidoo, the environmental group's global executive director, approached the ship Anna Akhmatova in inflatable boats, and chained themselves to the ship's anchor, the Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported Monday.

In an action Aug. 24, six activists scaled the drilling rig and hung suspended for 15 hours, holding a banner reading "Save the Arctic," the news agency said.

Greenpeace says it is protesting what it considers an inadequate spill response plan by Gazprom, the Russian natural gas and oil exploration company. In a statement after the Aug. 24 incident, Naidoo said, "We want to stave off the potential disaster that becomes possible when this platform begins its operations."

Gazprom's new drilling rig will begin operations by the end of the summer, and begin oil production by next year, it said.