A New Zealand court has fined Xena: Warrior Princess actress Lucy Lawless and a number of other Greenpeace activists who illegally boarded oil-drilling ship Noble Discoverer last year. Lawless, who pled guilty to the crime, was fined NZ$650 and ordered to complete 120 hours of community work.
Despite her sentence, Lawless revealed that she does not regret her decision to occupy the Noble Discoverer for three days in an attempt to prevent the ship from setting sail to the Arctic.
‘We are proud to have taken part in our attempt to stop Shell’s reckless plans to drill for oil in the pristine Arctic,’ Lawless told reporters. ‘Since we occupied the Noble Discoverer, it has become evident to everyone watching, from the millions who have signed Greenpeace petitions, to the US government… that it can never be safe to drill in the Arctic.’
The incident took place last February, when Lawless and six other activists scaled a 53-metre drilling derrick on the ship, and were later arrested for refusing to come down. Shell’s New Zealand subsidiary asked the New Zealand court for over $600,000 in damages, but judge Allan Roberts said this would have to be pursued through the civil courts.
Greenpeace climate campaigner Simon Boxer referred to Shell’s request as ‘quite ludicrous’ and noted that the Greenpeace activists were passionate about the cause.
‘It was a stiff sentence but they know what they were doing was right, and they know what matters the most was that they brought a spotlight onto the Arctic drilling plans of Shell,’ he told The New Zealand Herald. ‘As we’ve seen over this last year, those plans are in disarray at the moment because of that spotlight that started in New Zealand, so they feel it was their duty to act.’
Shell Todd Oil Services has also spoken out about the sentencing, noting that the company supported the police’s decision to take action against the protesters.
‘Shell Todd Oil Services recognises the right of individuals to express their point of view and protest in a manner that does not place the safety of people or property at risk. We continue to extend our offer of an open conversation where there is a real desire to find solutions,’ general manager Rob Jager said in a statement.
Lawless is best known for portraying Xena in the fantasy television series of the same name from 1995-2001. A renowned environmentalist, Lawless was crowned a Greenpeace ambassador in 2009. Following her sentencing, she told reporters that she will continue to fight against oil drilling.
‘Let’s embrace clean energy; we’re going to have to anyway, so why not do it before they cause a major oil spill in the Arctic, and consign our grandchildren to an uncertain and dangerous world?’ she said.
