Actress Lucy Lawless and Greenpeace activists climb oil-drilling ship in New Zealand protest

The Associated Press

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - Television actress Lucy Lawless and six Greenpeace activists have climbed an oil-drilling ship bound for the Arctic to try and stop it from leaving.

Speaking from atop a 174-foot (53 metre) derrick aboard Shell Oil's Noble Discoverer in the New Zealand port of Taranaki, Lawless told The Associated Press on Friday that wind gusts were making it difficult to stay put but that she and the other protesters planned to stay there for "as long as we possibly can."

She said she was taking direct action for the first time to protest oil drilling and to draw attention to climate change.

Lawless, a native New Zealander, is best known for her title role in "Xena: Warrior Princess." More recently she has appeared in the show "Spartacus: Blood and Sand."