Xena Warrior Princess star arrested after oil ship protest

Feb 26, 2012, 23:58 GMT

Wellington - TV action star Lucy Lawless and five other activists were arrested Monday after spending 77 hours atop a 53-metre drilling tower on a ship in New Zealand during a protest meant to stop the vessel from sailing to the Arctic.

Police climbed the drilling tower on the Noble Discoverer, docked in the Taranaki port of the central North Island, to arrest the group that began the 'Save the Arctic' protest on Friday.

Environmental activist group Greenpeace, which staged the protest, claimed the action had attracted worldwide support, with 133,000 people sending emails to the Shell company, urging the oil giant to cancel its Arctic drilling plans.

'This chapter has ended, but the story of the battle to save the Arctic has just begun,' Lawless said in a Greenpeace statement.

'Seven of us climbed up that drill ship to stop Arctic drilling, but 133,000 of us came down.'

Lawless, 44 and mother of three, starred in the television shows Xena: Warrior Princess and Spartacus.

'We will continue to stand in solidarity with the communities and species that depend on the Arctic for their very lives until Shell cancels its plans to drill in this magical world, and makes the switch to clean, sustainable energy,' she said.

The ship was slated to leave New Zealand Sunday to drill three exploratory oil wells in summer.