The Greenpeace vessel protesting against oil drilling has been taken into Spanish custody.
The Arctic Sunrise had been released only six months ago by the Russian government before it fell into the hands of the Spanish government.
It has been in waters off the Canary Islands where Spanish company Repsol is planning to drill for oil. Over the weekend, footage appeared to show a Spanish navy inflatable ramming one from Greenpeace.
Spain’s ministry of public works and transportation detained the vessel on Tuesday night pending an investigation against the captain for an “infringement against marine traffic rules”. The maximum fine for the offence is €300,000.
The country’s defence minister said that the navy was fulfilling its duty under international maritime conventions to “put a stop” to the committing of “allegedly criminal acts” through a “proportionate use of force”.
But the Spanish authorities have arrested neither the captain nor the crew.
Spain has set a bond of €50,000 before it will release the vessel.
It is not just Greenpeace which is protesting the plans to drill. Recently 200,000 Canary Island residents, 10% of the whole population, demonstrated against Repsol’s plans to drill off Lanzarote and Fuerteventura.
The area is heavily reliant on tourism and people fear that a possible oil spill could destroy the marine ecosystem and drive tourists away.
