The Netherlands is unable to stop the import of crude oil from Arctic Sea drilling, economic affairs minister Henk Kamp said on Thursday.

Kamp’s comments came in the wake of Greenpeace-led protests in Rotterdam earlier in the day, following the arrival of a Russian tanker carrying some 550,000 barrels of Arctic crude oil.

Labour MPs had called on the government to work towards a ban on the import of Arctic oil and on the extraction of oil from under the vulnerable Pole region.

However, such a ban would only be possible in the form of an international treaty, Kamp said. The likelihood of this happening was, he said, extremely small.

Arrests

A number of Greenpeace activists were arrested during the early morning protests, campaign leader Faiza Oulahsen told website nu.nl. They include the captain of Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior which was involved in trying to stop the tanker from docking.

According to some media reports, a total of 30 arrests were made. Two other Greenpeace ships – Esperanza and Argus – were also involved.

Oulahsen is one of 30 Greenpeace activists arrested by Russia last year while protesting against the drilling in the Arctic itself. She and the others were originally charged with piracy but released under an amnesty.