An environmental group protested at the office of the British Foreign Secretary urging “faster” legislative action for ocean protection.

Greenpeace also called on the UK to work with Bermuda and other nations to champion one of the world’s first high seas sanctuaries in the Sargasso Sea.

Four climbers from Greenpeace, which brought a ship to Bermuda last year, scaled Foreign Secretary David Lammy’s office in central London in the early hours of April 3 to unfurl a banner for their cause.

The display featured a cartoon image of a turtle urging Mr Lammy to stop “dallying” and dive in — by tabling British legislation for the Global Ocean Treaty ahead of a UN ocean conference in June.

Greenpeace warned there are not enough parliamentary sitting days left in the UK Parliament to pass the primary and secondary legislation needed to meet the previous government’s target of ratifying the treaty before the summer conference.

Reshima Sharma, the deputy head of politics at Greenpeace UK, said: “Almost two years on from the adoption of the Global Ocean Treaty, the UK Government has still not signed it into law.

“That’s why we delivered David Lammy a message he could not ignore.

“Our visit to Bermuda and the Sargasso Sea last year showed what is possible when politicians and environmental groups work together: our stunning marine ecosystems with all of the teeming life they support can be protected for future generations.

“That is the real prize at stake. But the global target of protecting 30 per cent of the ocean for nature by 2030 is ebbing away.”

Ms Sharma said the sooner the treaty was ratified, the sooner the British Government could work alongside Bermuda and other allies to create marine sanctuaries on the high seas.

Greenpeace said the treaty, which was agreed at the UN two years ago, was one of the “greatest conservation victories in history”.

The group said that two-thirds of the world’s ocean was beyond the coastal areas of each nation and it noted that less than 1 per cent of those waters were protected.

Erica Finnie, an oceans campaigner at Greenpeace UK, said the ocean was home to many spectacular marine creatures.

She added: “The Foreign Secretary and his staff love to talk about the importance of nature and ocean protection, yet this historic global agreement appears to be floundering.

“So we stopped by his office to deliver a message: stop dallying and get your flippers on.”

Ms Finnie said that Britain has been a leading light by helping the treaty into existence through the Blue Belt Programme.

She said the plan must be ratified quickly and that global support must be built for protecting wildlife hotspots, such as the Sargasso Sea.

Noelle Young, a Bermudian climate activist, highlighted the urgency for ratification of the treaty.

She said: “By ratifying the high seas treaty we can strengthen our interconnected economies, support the conservation of global migratory species and safeguard Bermuda’s unique cultural heritage.

“This partnership will also help protect our local artisanal fishery and ensure that future generations can continue to thrive both on land and at sea.

“This is an opportunity for both Bermuda and the UK to make history. Will you act to protect our island before this opportunity slips away for ever?”

Greenpeace said Bermuda’s “stunning ecosystem” supported a plethora of iconic wildlife, including humpback whales, dolphins and sea turtles.

Last year, the group put forward a plan — Sargasso: The Sea of Opportunity for Ocean Protection — to British lawmakers to protect the high seas around the island.

In a foreword to the report, Ms Young said the island led pioneering efforts to conserve the Sargasso Sea, aiming to protect the species that inhabit and migrate through it.

She said: “We must now expand and continue this work in partnership with the UK Government for the long term, ensuring the Sargasso Sea is preserved for all future generations.”

Greenpeace said the treaty could create a network of ocean sanctuaries, off limits from human activities such as industrial fishing and oil drilling that were devastating global marine ecosystems.

It said the plan must be signed into law by at least 60 governments for it to become binding and, to date, more than 20 nations had already signed up to the plan, including France and Spain.

“Implementing the treaty as soon as possible would put wind in the sails of the international target of protecting at least 30 per cent of the world’s ocean by 2030,” the group said.

It said Mr Lammy had made nature and the climate emergency a significant theme of his tenure.

The Foreign Secretary used one of his first major speeches to promise that “action on the climate and nature crisis will be central to all that the Foreign Office does” and that he was “completely committed” to ratifying the treaty, the group said.

Greenpeace said ocean protection had strong cross-party support and was popular with the British public.

It said almost 150,000 people had signed a petition calling on Mr Lammy to ratify the treaty, while a poll it commissioned last year found that more than half of respondents think the matter demanded urgent action from the British Government.