E mail sent to members.



Hi Keith,

At least 15 armed Russian Coast Guards have just illegally boarded and taken over our ship the Arctic Sunrise.

They immediately seized every crew member except three people who locked themselves inside the radio room as the guards tried to break in. We had a satellite phone link to them and they were speaking to international media, trying to stay there for as long as they could.

As far as we know, everyone else is being held under armed guard.

Please send an urgent email to the Russian Ambassador in London and demand the Russian Coast Guard release our crew immediately.

The ship had been part of a peaceful protest against energy giant Gazprom which is poised to drill for the first oil to come out of the icy waters of the Arctic.Yesterday there were guns pointed at the protesters, shots fired and two other crew members were arrested as they protested Gazprom's Arctic drilling.

The Arctic Sunrise was circling Gazprom's Prirazlomnaya platform inside international waters and outside the jurisdiction of Russian authorities, making the boarding of the ship unlawful.