Protest halts seismic testing

The seismic survey vessel Orient Explorer bears down on Greenpeace protester Kylee Mathews, who forced the ship off course during a protest off the East Cape yesterday. Photo / Greenpeace

Greenpeace is claiming a victory over a Brazilian oil giant looking to investigate deep sea oil drilling off the East Cape.

Swimmers from a protest flotilla of five vessels yesterday entered the water in the Raukumara Basin and diverted Petrobras' oil survey ship, the Orient Explorer, off course, halting seismic testing, said Greenpeace climate campaigner Steve Abel.

Petrobras was sold the rights to explore for oil last year. Its ship left Tauranga Harbour a week ago for the cape, where it planned to carry out seismic testing to explore the ocean for oil sediments.

The swimmers had large buoys with flags saying "Stop Deep Sea Oil", Mr Abel said.

"If we don't stop this initial deep sea oil exploration, rigs could be off coasts all around New Zealand in the near future, each one increasing the risk of spills and fuelling climate change as the oil is burnt."

The flotilla is supported by East Cape iwi Te Whanau a Apanui, which says the company had no right to be in the waters that lie east of their tribal lands.

"This is not a protest," iwi spokesman Rikirangi Gage said. "This is an act of defence of our ancestral lands and waters that have sustained us for generations."

The acting Minister of Energy and Resources, Hekia Parata, has expressed her disappointment at the action of the Greenpeace protesters.

"Petrobras has been awarded a five- year permit to explore what, if any, oil or gas prospects exist off the coast," Ms Parata said. "They have just started the first phase of a 3-year research programme ...

"Oil and gas exploration could contribute significantly to our economy."

- NZPA