Shell and Greenpeace agree settlement over dangerous and unlawful boarding of vessel

Please see here for full background and FAQs related to this case.

Shell U.K. Limited (“Shell UK”), a subsidiary of Shell plc (“Shell”), and Greenpeace UK Limited (“Greenpeace”) have settled a legal dispute over the costs incurred by Shell UK during Greenpeace’s dangerous boarding of a vessel in the Atlantic Ocean. Last year, protestors unlawfully scaled a 72,000 metric ton moving vessel and occupied it for 13 days. Greenpeace has now agreed to make a payment to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), which recognises Shell’s main concern with the Greenpeace action – that this kind of stunt at sea is a serious risk to safety and life.

As part of the settlement, Greenpeace has also signed a legally binding commitment to Shell UK and the High Court. It prohibits Greenpeace from carrying out similar actions at or near key oil and gas platforms in the North Sea for 5 to 10 years.

Shell is pleased that the dispute has been settled and that a payment in lieu of the costs it incurred can benefit a charity working on safety at sea. For Shell, the right to protest is fundamental and has never been at issue. Instead, this case was about an illegal boarding by protestors which a High Court judge described as “putting their lives and, indirectly, the lives of the crew at risk”. He was also clear that Greenpeace could still protest from a safe distance and their human rights were not infringed.

Notes to editors

• In January and February 2023, Greenpeace protestors boarded and scaled the newly built Penguins floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel while it was being transported in the Atlantic Ocean north of the Canary Islands. Two other activists attempted to board but did not manage to.
• Shell and its contractors took steps to respond to the unlawful boardings that were proportionate and were taken with the express purpose of ensuring the safe passage of the FPSO, together with the safety of those impacted by the boardings, including the protestors themselves.
• In February 2023, Shell UK and Fluor Limited were granted injunctions by a U.K. court, which required an underlying legal claim against Greenpeace. This claim sought reimbursement of the costs incurred by Shell UK, its contractors and sub-contractors to deal with Greenpeace’s unlawful actions and to convert the injunctions into a permanent injunction. Shell UK’s total claim amounted to USD900,000, which included approximately USD500,000 incurred for the support vessel to provide emergency response in the event of a safety incident (including any involving the protestors) and to deter further attempted boardings.
• A settlement payment of £300,000 – more than one third of the costs incurred during the unlawful boarding – will be paid by Greenpeace to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), a charity agreed by the parties. Shell is not receiving any payment from the settlement.
• The legally binding undertakings given by Greenpeace prohibit them from coming within 500m of the Penguins, Shearwater, Gannet, and Nelson platforms in the North Sea, whereby protestors shall not board, attempt to board, interfere with, damage, block or obstruct any other equipment, installation, asset or vessel (or any vessel carrying, towing or escorting the same) within the Shearwater Field, the Gannet Fields, the Nelson Field and Penguins Field.
• The terms of the settlement agreement have been freely negotiated by the parties’ legal representatives.

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