Judge orders Greenpeace to stay away from ships

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A federal judge has ordered Greenpeace protesters to stay away from Royal Dutch Shell PLC ships.

U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason on Friday also prohibited Greenpeace from flying unmanned vehicles over the offshore Arctic area where Shell plans to drill.

The Alaska Dispatch News reports (http://bit.ly/1Inzqcj ) the safety-zone injunction is in effect until Oct. 31. Shell Offshore Inc. sued on April 7, one day after six Greenpeace protesters boarded the Blue Marlin, a heavy-lift ship carrying a Transocean Ltd. semi-submersible drilling unit, the Polar Pioneer, as it crossed the Pacific.

The injunction establishes buffer zones from 300 feet to about 5,000 feet.

Shell says it is pleased with the outcome. Greenpeace calls the ruling disappointing.