The Greenpeace ship Esperanza is visiting the Arctic nature reserve Bear Island. Around 175 km from the island the Norwegian state owned oil company Statoil is planning to drill the world’s most northerly oil well this summer.

If Statoil’s rig leaks, the oil could engulf Bear Island in less than a week. This would have a devastating impact on the millions of sea birds that come here to breed, the arctic foxes, and the occasional hunting polar bear.