Royal Dutch Shell Plc said it . has filed a complaint in federal court in Alaska seeking an . order to remove Greenpeace activists who climbed aboard an oil . rig in the Pacific Ocean bound for the Arctic on Monday in a. protest against Arctic drilling . The environmental group said in a statement its team would . occupy the underside of the main deck of the Polar Pioneer , . which is under contract to Shell , and plans to unfurl a banner . with the names of millions of people opposed to Arctic drilling . The group said the activists would not interfere with the . vessel 's navigation . Scroll down for video . On the rig : Greenpeace activists scale the Polar Pioneer drill rig in the Pacific Ocean . Map : The activists boarded the rig just 750 miles northwest of Hawaii as it makes its journey to the Arctic . At dawn on Monday , the six , from the USA , Germany , New Zealand , Australia , Sweden and Austria , sped towards the Polar Pioneer in inflatable boats launched from the Greenpeace ship Esperanza . Climbers : All Greenpeace activists aboard the rig are experienced climbers and say they do n't plan to interfere with the ship 's course . 'We 're here to highlight that in less than 100 days Shell is . going to the Arctic to drill for oil , ' 32-year-old Johno Smith , . one of the six to board the Blue Marlin , the ship carrying the . rig , said in the statement . 'Shell 's actions are exploiting the melting ice to increase . a man-made disaster . Climate change is real , ' he added . Shell said in an emailed statement that it has met with . groups against oil drilling off Alaska 's shores and 'respect . their views ' but condemned the boarding . 'We can confirm that protesters from Greenpeace have . illegally boarded the Polar Pioneer , under contract to Shell , . jeopardizing not only the safety of the crew on board , but the . protesters themselves , ' Shell said . The move comes just days after the U.S . Interior Department . upheld a 2008 lease sale in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska , moving . Shell a step closer to returning to oil and gas exploration in . the Arctic since it suffered mishaps in the region in 2012 . The people vs shell : The activists hope they will draw media attention to oil drilling in the Arctic . Reveal a list : Greenpeace activists scale the Polar Pioneer drill rig in the Pacific Ocean to unfurl a banner with the names of millions of people opposed to Arctic drilling . Long haul : The activists used ropes and climbing equipment to scale the 38,000-tonne platform . Many environmentalists oppose offshore energy exploration in . the Arctic , saying that once production begins any oil spill . would be extremely difficult to clean up . Oil industry interests say the Arctic will be important to . the United States ' energy security in coming decades when output . from shale formations is expected to wane . Images published by Greenpeace showed the activists using . climbing gear to move from an inflatable boat onto the Blue . Marlin heavy-lift vessel towing the Pioneer , one of two drill . rigs heading to the region , as it cruised some 750 miles ( 1,207. km ) northwest of Hawaii . The six activists planned to camp on the 38,000-tonne Polar Pioneer platform , which they boarded using inflatable boats from the Greenpeace vessel 'Esperanza . ' Tweeting from the rig : Aliyah Field tweeted she 'd love some coffee but that the sunrise over the Pacific is gorgeous even from the side of the oil rig . Many names : Aliyah maybe referring to the list of names the activists will hang showing all the people who are opposed to oil drilling in the arctic . The six -- from the United States , Germany , New Zealand , Australia , Sweden and Austria -- have supplies for several days and can communicate with the outside world , Greenpeace said . 'We made it ! We 're on Shell 's platform . And we 're not alone . Everyone can help turn this into a platform for people power ! ' tweeted one of the six , Aliyah Field . Johno Smith from New Zealand added : 'We 're here to highlight that in less than 100 days Shell is going to the Arctic to drill for oil . 'This pristine environment needs protecting for future generations and all life that will call it home . But instead Shell 's actions are exploiting the melting ice to increase a man-made disaster . ' A Shell spokeswoman , Kelly op de Weegh , blasted the action . 'We can confirm that protestors from Greenpeace have illegally boarded the 'Polar Pioneer , ' under contract to Shell , jeopardizing not only the safety of the crew on board , but the protestors themselves , ' she said on Monday . She added : 'Shell has met with organizations and individuals who oppose energy exploration offshore Alaska . We respect their views and value the dialogue . 'We will not , however , condone the illegal tactics employed by Greenpeace . Nor will we allow these stunts to distract from preparations underway to execute a safe and responsible exploration program , ' she said in a statement .
Shell has filed a complaint in federal court in Australia seeking an order to remove Greenpeace activists who climbed aboard an oil rig in the Pacific . The environmental group said in a statement its team would occupy the underside of the main deck of the Polar Pioneer . The six activists are camping on the 38,000-tonne Polar Pioneer platform , which they boarded using inflatable boats from the Greenpeace vessel 'Esperanza ' 'We made it ! We 're on Shell 's platform . And we 're not alone . Everyone can help turn this into a platform for people power ! ' tweeted Aliyah Field .