Armies no longer run on their stomachs. Modern armies, and navies too, run on hydrocarbon fuels. So it is no surprise that the Danish Navy is facing off against the Greenpeace ship Esperanza protesting the drilling of two exploratory wells in Baffin Bay. The captain of the patrol frigate Vaedderen has warned the environmentalists that their ship will be raided if they violate a seclusion zone around the drilling activity conducted by a British company, Cairn Energy. The modern double hull Danish frigate (1992) is armed with a 76mm rapid fire canon, various heavy machine guns, antisubmarine weapons, and a Lynx helicopter. The Esperanza is a former Russian firefighting vessel equipped with boats and a helicopter. Thirty activists and crew are reported to be aboard.Cairn Energy announced yesterday that it has found gas in thin sands usually associated with oil. One of two wells in Baffin Bay, T8-1, has not yet reached its target depth. The company plans to drill four wells in the area and perform seismic surveying.
[photo credit: Will Rose/AFP/Getty Images via UK Guardian]