Shell and Greenpeace settle Penguins FPSO case; Greenpeace pays RNLI £300,000
Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
Shell sued Greenpeace UK and Greenpeace International over the boarding of the Penguins FPSO, a climate change protest at the Penguins field, and sought about £800,000 in damages. The case settled on 10 December 2024 with Greenpeace paying £300,000 to the RNLI, admitting no liability and accepting 500m exclusion zones at Shell sites.
- Shell — Greenpeace accepted 500m exclusion zones around Shell sites for five or ten years Brick Court
- Greenpeace — Paid £300,000 to the RNLI and admitted no liability Brick Court
What happened
Shell filed a claim in the Admiralty Court in February 2023 over the boarding of the Penguins FPSO, seeking damages of about £800,000 plus costs.
Greenpeace said the damages could reach up to $2.1 million.
The case settled on 10 December 2024: Greenpeace gave £300,000 to the RNLI, admitted no liability and accepted 500m exclusion zones at Shell sites for five or ten years.
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
- 2023-02–SettledShell v Greenpeace UK/InternationalAdmiralty Court · Civil · Shell → Greenpeace UK and Greenpeace International
Damages claim of about £800,000 plus costs over the Penguins FPSO boarding. Settled on 10 December 2024 with a £300,000 payment to the RNLI, no admission of liability and 500m exclusion zones at Shell sites for five or ten years. Brick Court
Insurers
What we don't know
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- Insufficient Reported but not verified: Greenpeace was awarded €15,000 in costs.
- None on record The sources reviewed do not say whether the exclusion zones have been enforced or breached.
Did the harm stop?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Company or project
Connected cases
- Alliance to End Plastic Waste and Renew Oceans (Ganges) India · 2019–2026
- Shell (Company) — here: Claimant; there: Founding member; named among five members compared by Unearthed
- Greenpeace (NGO) — here: Defendant; paid the RNLI and accepted exclusion zones; there: Its Unearthed unit published the 2024 comparison
- Corporate suits against Greenpeace (TotalEnergies, Shell, Resolute) France, United Kingdom, United States · 2019–2024
- Shell (Company) — here: Claimant; there: Claimant against Greenpeace UK and Greenpeace International
- Greenpeace (NGO) — here: Defendant; paid the RNLI and accepted exclusion zones; there: Defendant in all three suits
- Brazil REDD+ forest credits: Suruí project suspended; 2024 Amazonas concessions probed Brazil · 2013–2026
- Shell (Company) — here: Claimant; there: minority investor in Carbonext
- Brazil: Operation Greenwashing Brazil · 2024–2025
- Shell (Company) — here: Claimant; there: Reported to hold a stake in Carbonext
- Brent Spar decommissioning controversy (North Sea) United Kingdom · 1995–2019
- Greenpeace (NGO) — here: Defendant; paid the RNLI and accepted exclusion zones; there: Campaigner in the Brent Spar controversy
- Coca-Cola plastic pledges and brand audits United States · 2018
- Greenpeace (NGO) — here: Defendant; paid the RNLI and accepted exclusion zones; there: Analyst of the alliance's results
- COP28 decision promoted carbon capture and left room for transition fuels United Arab Emirates · 2023
- Shell (Company) — here: Claimant; there: Member of the Global CCS Institute
- Cordillera Azul National Park carbon project Peru · 2008–2026
- Shell (Company) — here: Claimant; there: Credit buyer
- Court cancels Shell's Wild Coast seismic exploration rights South Africa · 2022–2024
- Shell (Company) — here: Claimant; there: Holder of the seismic exploration rights
- Edelman: API contract, Energy Citizens and the COP30 contract United States · 2005–2026
- Shell (Company) — here: Claimant; there: Client in 2025 per the record
- EDF spying on Greenpeace (France) France · 2011–2013
- Greenpeace (NGO) — here: Defendant; paid the RNLI and accepted exclusion zones; there: Organisation placed under surveillance; awarded damages at first instance
- Energy Transfer v Greenpeace (Dakota Access) United States · 2017–2026
- Greenpeace (NGO) — here: Defendant; paid the RNLI and accepted exclusion zones; there: Defendant in the federal suit
- EU bans three neonicotinoid pesticides outdoors in 2018; Turkey follows in part European Union · 2018
- Greenpeace (NGO) — here: Defendant; paid the RNLI and accepted exclusion zones; there: campaigner and reporter on exports
- EU seal-product ban's Inuit exemption found ineffective Canada · 2014
- Greenpeace (NGO) — here: Defendant; paid the RNLI and accepted exclusion zones; there: Campaigner; apology issuer (unverified)
- Germany rejects 215,000 carbon credits from Chinese oil-sector projects Germany · 2024
- Shell (Company) — here: Claimant; there: Named among companies that used the credits, as reported
- Gorgon LNG carbon storage fell short; gap closed with credits Australia · 2006
- Shell (Company) — here: Claimant; there: Gorgon partner (IEEFA)
- Greenpeace leaves the Forest Stewardship Council in 2018 Global · 2018
- Greenpeace (NGO) — here: Defendant; paid the RNLI and accepted exclusion zones; there: Organisation that ended its FSC membership
- Greenpeace says fisheries scientist Ray Hilborn got $3.56m from seafood groups United States · 2003–2016
- Greenpeace (NGO) — here: Defendant; paid the RNLI and accepted exclusion zones; there: complainant; reported the funding figures
- Groningen gas field Netherlands · date not stated
- Shell (Company) — here: Claimant; there: Claimant in arbitration against the Netherlands
- Hess agreed to buy at least US$750 million of Guyana forest credits Guyana · 2011–2032
- Greenpeace (NGO) — here: Defendant; paid the RNLI and accepted exclusion zones; there: Campaign group that criticised the plan
- Hill & Knowlton and Edelman: PR for fossil fuel clients and climate summits Egypt · 2005–2025
- Shell (Company) — here: Claimant; there: agency client
- Hill & Knowlton, the Frank Statement and the TIRC United States · 1953–2022
- Shell (Company) — here: Claimant; there: Client at the time of COP27
- Indonesia's forest moratorium: ministry cited 38% less clearing, Greenpeace disputed it Indonesia · 2011–2019
- Greenpeace (NGO) — here: Defendant; paid the RNLI and accepted exclusion zones; there: critic; published satellite analysis
- Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni Nine; Wiwa v Shell Nigeria · 1958–2026
- Shell (Company) — here: Claimant; there: Operator through SPDC; defendant in Wiwa v Shell and the Dutch case; sold SPDC in 2025
- McKinsey advice to COP28 presidency and fossil clients United Arab Emirates · 2011–2025
- Greenpeace (NGO) — here: Defendant; paid the RNLI and accepted exclusion zones; there: Author of the 2011 report on McKinsey's cost curves
- Milan court acquits Eni and Shell in Nigeria corruption case Italy · 2021
- Shell (Company) — here: Claimant; there: Defendant, acquitted
- Niger Delta oil spills and sabotage attribution (Shell, Eni) Nigeria · 2008–2022
- Shell (Company) — here: Claimant; there: Operator through SPDC; sold SPDC in 2025
- Norway Longship and Northern Lights CCS; Sleipner Norway · 1991–2025
- Shell (Company) — here: Claimant; there: Northern Lights partner
- Ogoniland and Bodo spills clean-up (SPDC, HYPREP) Nigeria · 1958–2026
- Shell (Company) — here: Claimant; there: Parent of SPDC; halted Ogoniland production in 1993; sold SPDC to Renaissance in March 2025
- Plant-for-the-Planet: 13.6 billion trees Germany / Global · 2011–2024
- Shell (Company) — here: Claimant; there: 1t.org pledger (2021 list)
- Plastic waste imports into Türkiye (Adana) Türkiye · 2016–2026
- Greenpeace (NGO) — here: Defendant; paid the RNLI and accepted exclusion zones; there: Reported UK plastic at Adana dumping sites (2021)
- Producers funded 90% of EDF's 2013 methane study, HPPR reported United States · 2013
- Shell (Company) — here: Claimant; there: Producer funder of the study
- Quest CCS (Shell, Alberta) Canada · 2015–2020
- Shell (Company) — here: Claimant; there: Facility owner
- Rainforest credits investigation Global · 2009–2023
- Shell (Company) — here: Claimant; there: Named credit buyer
- Raja Ampat nickel licences revoked Indonesia · 2025
- Greenpeace (NGO) — here: Defendant; paid the RNLI and accepted exclusion zones; there: Campaign organisation; reported more than 500 hectares destroyed
- Resolute Forest Products v Greenpeace Canada · 2012–2024
- Greenpeace (NGO) — here: Defendant; paid the RNLI and accepted exclusion zones; there: Defendant in the US case; campaigner
- Russia declares WWF and Greenpeace 'undesirable' organisations Russia · 2023
- Greenpeace (NGO) — here: Defendant; paid the RNLI and accepted exclusion zones; there: Declared undesirable and closed in Russia
- Russia labels WWF Russia a foreign agent, then an undesirable organisation Russia · 2023
- Greenpeace (NGO) — here: Defendant; paid the RNLI and accepted exclusion zones; there: Declared undesirable on 19 May 2023
- Salem tanker Senegal (offshore) · 1979–1985
- Shell (Company) — here: Claimant; there: Cargo owner (Shell International Petroleum); claimant against cargo underwriters
- Shell buys Australian carbon-farming firm Select Carbon in August 2020 Australia · 2020–2023
- Shell (Company) — here: Claimant; there: acquirer of Select Carbon
- Shell nature-based solutions and carbon-neutral driving ads Netherlands · 2019–2023
- Shell (Company) — here: Claimant; there: Fuel seller; advertiser of carbon-neutral driving; author of the Sky 1.5 scenario
- Shell Nigeria pipeline spill ruling (Hague Court of Appeal, 2021) Nigeria · 2021–2022
- Shell (Company) — here: Claimant; there: Parent group of Shell Nigeria
- Shell reserves overstatement case: investors settle for $352.6 million United States · 2006
- Shell (Company) — here: Claimant; there: company whose reserves were restated
- Shell Rocky Mountain Arsenal insurance case United States · 1987–2010
- Shell (Company) — here: Claimant; there: Policyholder; co-payer of Arsenal cleanup
- Shell's 1.5C scenario relied on 700 million hectares of new forest Global · 2019–2021
- Shell (Company) — here: Claimant; there: author of the Sky 1.5 scenario; offered carbon-neutral driving
- Shell's 2022 stake in Brazilian REDD+ developer Carbonext Brazil · 2022
- Shell (Company) — here: Claimant; there: bought a minority stake in Carbonext in 2022
- Turmeric, neem, basmati, Nap Hal patent revocations India · 2004–2022
- Greenpeace (NGO) — here: Defendant; paid the RNLI and accepted exclusion zones; there: Declared victory on the Nap Hal wheat revocation
- UK packaging recycling notes (PRN) system and export fraud United Kingdom · 2009–2025
- Greenpeace (NGO) — here: Defendant; paid the RNLI and accepted exclusion zones; there: NGO; found UK plastic at sites in Adana