Spanish Navy Versus Greenpeace Dinghy, 4 Injured

A protest near the Canary Islands led to the Spanish navy ramming a Greenpeace dinghy on Saturday. Four people were injured, one seriously when she fell from the dinghy, broke her leg and was also possibly hit by its propellers. The navy said it rushed the 23-year-old Spanish woman to hospital by helicopter.

The Spanish navy had dispatched two boats to prevent Greenpeace from boarding the drillship Rowan Renaissance. Spanish energy company Repsol is currently exploring in the area with the drillship.

On Friday night the Spanish navy asked the Arctic Sunrise, the vessel from which the Greenpeace dinghy was launched, to leave the area. Captain, Joel Stewart, refused saying: “We will not allow reckless oil drilling by the Rowan Renaissance in these deep waters. We are calling on the Spanish government to protect the environment and to protect the people of the Canary Islands and not to be protecting the corporate profits of Repsol.”

Last month, at the Spanish government's request, the Constitutional Court blocked a proposal by the Canary Islands regional government to hold a referendum on oil exploration in waters off the archipelago which is located off northwestern Africa. Some residents fear that oil spills could damage the islands, which are one of Europe's major tourism locations and home to a commercially important fishing industry.