Arctic Sunrise sets sail

Greenpeace International announced on Friday that the Arctic Sunrise had been released by Russian authorities and had set sail from the port of Murmansk in northern Russia on Friday.

The vessel had been impounded at Murmansk since the Russian coast guard seized it during a Greenpeace protest in which activists attempted to climb aboard Gazprom's Prirazlomnaya oil-drilling platform. The protest was designed to draw attention to the risks to the environment of drilling for oil within the Arctic Circle.

The Russian coast guard also arrested all 30 activists and journalists on board the ship. The Russian judiciary charged them with piracy and they were held in prison for several months. The charges were later reduced to "hooliganism" and all 30 were released shortly before the Winter Olympics in Sochi.

Russian authorities had informed Greenpeace that it was releasing the Arctic Sunrise back in June, but the organization asked them to ensure the ship's safety until they could send a crew to pick it up.

As statement posted on Greenpeace International's website said it would take the Arctic Sunrise around 10 days to reach Amsterdam, where it would be welcomed by activists and supporters of the environmental group. After that it is to be sent to a shipyard to check on its condition and make any necessary repairs.

pfd/kms (AFP, dpa)