The environmental group Greenpeace says two of its activists who had protested deepwater drilling in the Arctic have been arrested.

Greenpeace said Thursday the two were arrested after they climbed an oil rig off the coast of Greenland to stop a Scottish company from drilling for oil. The activists scaled the 53,000-ton Leiv Eiriksson, which is operated by the Scottish oil company Cairn Energy, on Sunday and set up camp in a survival pod overhanging the water. Greenpeace says they were removed from the rig Thursday by a team believed to be from the Danish Navy, which took them away on inflatable speedboats.

Greenpeace says the drilling plans are a danger to the Arctic environment and that oil companies are not taking the precautions necessary to prevent oil spills.

Greenland is hoping to take advantage of its oil reserves to develop its economy.

This is the second time Greenpeace activists have boarded the Leiv Eiriksson to disrupt Arctic deepwater drilling operations.

A group of 11 activists boarded the ship in April when it was off the coast of Turkey, hoping to prevent it from reaching Greenland. They climbed the rig and unfurled a banner reading “Stop Arctic Destruction,” but bad weather forced them to abandon their protest.