Two men have been arrested after a day-long stand-off between police and protestors on a BP-operated rig in the Cromarty Firth.
A helicopter flew in officers today in an attempt to end the Greenpeace demonstration.
Police said they were going to lower the platform into the North Sea to allow boats access to remove the campaigners.
Chief Superintendent George Macdonald, Highlands and Islands divisional commander, has now confirmed that a 40-year-old man and a 50-year-old man were arrested at 2pm.
He said: “The particular nature of this protest on an oil platform within a marine environment made this an extremely complex and challenging operation.
“The safety of all involved was of paramount importance and we have utilised highly trained specialist officers from across the entirety of Police Scotland to deal with this incident.
“Police Scotland fully understand the rights and privileges of peaceful protests, however, there is a balance when such actions are potentially reckless and compromise safety.
“We also have a duty to act where criminality is suspected or identified.
“Officers boarded the platform around 2pm and arrested the two men, aged 50 and 40-years-old, who had been protesting on the rig.
“This brings the total number of people arrested in connection with the operation to nine and enquiries remain ongoing.
“As stated, this was a challenging and complex operation which required careful and detailed consideration and planning with a range of partners to ensure a safe conclusion.”
The campaigners clambered aboard the 27,000-tonne rig on Sunday to prevent it from making its way out to the Vorlich field in the North Sea.
It is understood that there are approximately 90 Transocean crew on board, with around a handful of BP employees also on board.
Two people appeared at Tain Sheriff Court in connection with the protest on Wednesday, and yesterday a third was in the dock.
Joanne Paterson, 53, of Knockburn, Munlochy, pled not guilty to breaching the peace.
It is alleged she, while acting with others, boarded the rig, refused to leave and tethered herself to the rig, placing herself and others in danger between Sunday and Wednesday.
Greenpeace has vowed to stay on the rig as long as BP continues drilling for oil.
A BP spokesman said: “BP is grateful for the support of Police Scotland, Transocean and all authorities who helped bring this incident to a safe conclusion.
“It was a complex operation that required specialist skills and resources to be mobilised from across the country and was carried out in a professional and respectful manner.
“BP supports discussion, debate and peaceful demonstration, but the irresponsible actions of Greenpeace put themselves and others unnecessarily at risk.
“We share the protestors’ concerns about climate change, we support the Paris agreement and are committed to playing our part to advance the energy transition.
“However, progress to a lower carbon future will depend on coming together, understanding each other’s perspectives and working to find solutions, not dangerous PR stunts that exacerbate divisions and create risks to both life and property.”
