GREEN PEACE LEAVES THE RUSSIAN ARCTIC

GREEN PEACE DOES A ONE EIGHTY AS RUSSIA TURNS THE GUNS ON THEM

A handout photo released by Greenpeace shows the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise entering the Northern Sea Route (NSR) off Russia's coastline to protest against Arctic oil drilling on August 24, 2013.

"A Greenpeace icebreaker that entered Russia’s Arctic without permission to protest offshore energy exploration is leaving after being threatened with gunfire by that country’s coast guard.

“It was repeated several times in open conversation that they were threatening that if we didn’t leave the Northern Sea Route that they would fire on our ship,” Christy Ferguson, a Canadian crew member on the Arctic Sunrise steaming back to Norwegian waters, said Monday.

Russian officials weren't immediately available for comment."

Read the entire story at: http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/08/26/greenpeace-ship-leaves-russian-waters-after-being-threatened-with-gunfire/

Editorial Comment: 

 We're glad that Green Peace for once decided that discretion was the better part of valor because Ivan isn't known for an official sense of humor. The fact is that we think the old Bear exhibited incredible patience considering that Green Peace flagrantly violated Russia's regulations and illegally,after being warned, entered waters under Russian jurisdiction of one sort or another and then proceeded to conduct operations that interfered with an ocean project's safety and security.  Back when we dealt with the Bear on a regular basis in the 1960s and 70s the Green Peace ship would have been seized and crew arrested. After days of harassing the the Russian on scene Coast Guard security team the ARCTIC SUN over heard open discussions about blowing them out of the water on the radio and at one point a Russian cutter actually trained their guns on them. Green Peace finally got the message and left. Having dealt with Green Peace ourselves on several occasions all of our empathy is focused on the long suffering Russian Coast Guard. Green Peace you are a failing NGO no matter what your treasury balance says. Too many stunts, too much reckless endangerment, no respect for law, have cost you credibility. Shape up or ship out!