North to Alaska: Shell’s Quest for Protection from Greenpeace Continues as Court Denies Motion to Dismiss
North to Alaska: Shell’s Quest for Protection from Greenpeace Continues as Court Denies Motion to Dismiss
By John Berteau
Edited By: Brooke E. Michiels
Shell Offshore, Inc. v. Greenpeace, Inc., No. 15-54 (D. Alaska filed Apr. 7, 2015). Shell intends to conduct exploration activities on its Outer Continental Shelf (“OCS” herein) leases in the Chukchi Sea (seventy-five miles offshore of Alaska) during the July-October 2015 open water season in the Arctic Ocean. Earlier this year, Shell began the process of mobilizing vessels for the season by transporting the Noble Discoverer and the Polar Pioneer from Malaysia to the U.S. Pacific Northwest. Greenpeace’s vessel, Esperanza, stalked Shell’s transport across the Pacific Ocean, including the illegal boarding and occupation of the Polar Pioneer. Shell’s vessels are making final preparations for the 2015 Arctic exploration season while in port in the Pacific Northwest. Shell sought the Court’s protection of vessels and related Arctic assets from tortious and alleged illegal conduct by Greenpeace while in transit from the Pacific Northwest to Alaska, and while conducting drilling operations in the Chukchi Sea. Shell’s complaint lists out fifteen specific instances of alleged dangerous and unlawful interference by Greenpeace with Shell’s worldwide operations since 2010. Shell’s request for protection is based on the defendants’ history of alleged unlawful interference combined with the alleged imminent threat of interference and irreparable harm to Shell’s 2015 Arctic exploration drilling program and support vessels. The U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska denied a motion to dismiss filed by defendant, Greenpeace USA. Greenpeace presented seven arguments including subject-matter jurisdiction, ripeness, displacement, preemption of state law, primary jurisdiction, forum non conveniens, and failure to state a claim, all of which failed to persuade the Court to dismiss the action. Previously in 2012, Shell filed a similar lawsuit against Greenpeace, to protect Shell’s planned OCS Arctic 2012 exploration drilling operations from tortious and illegal conduct and threats by Greenpeace (Shell Offshore, Inc. v. Greenpeace Inc., 864 F. Supp. 2d (D. Alaska 2012). The Court in that case granted Shell a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the Court’s order (Shell Offshore, Inc. v. Greenpeace Inc., 709 F.3d 1281 (9th Cir. 2013).
