Police say the head of Greenpeace has been arrested after climbing an oil rig off Greenland's west coast in an attempt to stop a Scottish oil company from deepwater drilling in Arctic waters.

Greenpeace's executive director Kumi Naidoo was arrested with a Norwegian activist on top of the Leiv Eriksson drilling rig, which is operated by Cairn Energy.

The two will be transferred to Greenland's capital Nuuk where they will be charged with trespassing and violating Greenland's "home rule order on safety zones."

Greenpeace has staged a series of protests at the drilling rig, demanding that Cairn present a plan on how to cope with a potential oil spill.

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