How Has Shell Settled its Greenpeace Oil Platform Lawsuit?

After more than a year, Shell’s lawsuit against Greenpeace has come to an end.

The British oil and gas giant sued independent global campaigning network Greenpeace for US$2.1m in damages last year — one of the largest legal threats against the group — after campaigners occupied a moving oil platform for almost two weeks as it travelled from the Canary Islands to Norway.

The multimillion-dollar lawsuit has now been settled out of court, with the final settlement stating Greenpeace will accept no liability and pay no money to Shell but will instead donate £300,000 (US$382,500) to the UK's Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).

The Shell Greenpeace lawsuit explained

In January 2023, campaigners climbed onto a Shell-operated floating production vessel, the White Marlin, north of the Canary Islands.

The move was made by six activists who were campaigning against fossil fuels and oil drilling. They reached the ship on inflatable boats.

As a result, Shell threatened to sue Greenpeace for US$2.1m.

The group said that Shell was using “bullying tactics” against peaceful protest, which Shell countered by saying Greenpeace’s action posed a serious risk to life.

The settlement legally prohibits Greenpeace from carrying out similar actions at or near key oil and gas platforms in the North Sea for the next five to 10 years.

What is Greenpeace?

With a history stretching back more than 50 years, Greenpeace's goal is to “ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its diversity”.

Its campaigning centres on global environmental issues including climate change, as well as deforestation, anti-war and anti-nuclear issues in the form of direct action, advocacy, research and ecotage — a term used for sabotage carried out for ecological reasons.

It is one of the most visible environmental organisations globally. It is not funded by any governments, corporations or political parties, instead relying on its three million individual supporters and foundation grants to finance its activism.

Areeba Hamid, Co-Executive Director of Greenpeace UK, said: “This settlement shows that people power works. Thousands of ordinary people across the country backed our fight against Shell and their support means we stay independent and can keep holding big oil to account. 

“We’ve ensured not a penny of our supporters’ money will go to Shell and all funds raised will be used to continue campaigning against the fossil fuel industry and other big polluters.

“This legal battle might be over, but big oil’s dirty tricks aren’t going away. With Greenpeace facing further legal battles around the world, we won’t stop campaigning until the fossil fuel industry stops drilling and starts paying for the damage it is causing to people and planet.”

Shell’s reaction

In a statement, Shell said that it is pleased that the dispute has been settled and that Greenpeace’s donation to the RNLI “can benefit a charity working on safety at sea”.

A spokesperson for the company added: “For Shell, the right to protest is fundamental and has never been at issue. Instead, this case was about an illegal boarding by protesters 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.”

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