Greenpeace icebreaker defies Russia ban on Northern Sea Route Greenpeace has set itself up for confrontation with Russian authorities after its icebreaker entered an Arctic shipping route off the northern coast without permission. Russia has turned down three requests for the environmental group's Arctic Sunrise icebreaker to sail in the Northern Sea Route to protest against oil exploration in the region by Rosneft and ExxonMobil. But at 7.30am Moscow time on Saturday the icebreaker entered the waters of Northern Sea Route in its campaign against Arctic drilling. "We refuse to let illegal attempts by the Russian government stop us from exposing dangerous oil drilling in the Arctic," said Christy Ferguson, a Greenpeace campaigner on board the Arctic Sunrise. The Russian Arctic National Park is a special place full of rare and threatened Arctic wildlife, and faces an infinitely greater threat from reckless oil companies than a fully equipped Greenpeace icebreaker. Russia's ministry of transport on Wednesday justified denying the icebreaker permission, by saying Greenpeace had not provided information about the width of the vessel's protective ice belt. Greenpeace said that the refusal was unjustified as the width of the ice belt was not important and had not been asked for in two previous requests for permission. The Northern Sea Route, controlled by Russia, is seen as an increasingly interesting shipping alternative in the long term for Asia-Europe trade. But for the next decade or so, most experts believe it will be most useful in allowing Russia to export any oil or gas it is able to extract from sites close to its Arctic shoreline. Rosneft and Exxon have started testing in the Kara Sea. Rosneft on Wednesday reportedly offered to buy Greenpeace a television set as TV programmes could give the environmental group objective information about Rosneft's intentions. Ms Ferguson warned of the damage an oil spill could cause in the remote area. If an accident happens here it will cause irreparable harm to the entire region. There is no proven method for dealing with an oil spill in icy conditions, and cold water stops the oil breaking down for many years. Polar bears, walruses and rare creatures like the narwhal will lose their habitat and this place would be devastated. Greenpeace says Russia's refusal to grant it permission was contrary to international law while it claimed drilling in the Arctic national park was against Russia's environmental laws.