As far as protests go, this one will never match the duration of some of B.C.'s most famous standoffs.

A day after demonstrators boarded a private drilling barge near Westridge Marine Terminal, Burnaby Mounties moved in and arrested seven people.

According to an RCMP news release, they will face criminal mischief charges.

One of the two people who initially boarded the barge claimed to be a hereditary chief of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation. They were later joined by other activists.

They engaged in the direct action to protest Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain subsidiary conducting geotechnical work in Burrard Inlet.

In a statement released yesterday, the activists said their protest "should also serve as a reminder to the public that we must do more than write, rally, and march".

Yesterday the Tsleil-Waututh Nation government issued a statement that the direct action was not done with any involvement of the elected chief and council.

"The actions represent individual considerations, not those of the Tsleil-Waututh government," the statement reads. "While we respect all those opposed to the expansion and their perspectives on the best way to voice that opposition, the Tsleil-Waututh Nation government will continue to oppose the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion project by all legal means necessary."

Trans Mountain plans to expand the terminal in Burnaby to be able to handle a dramatic increase in oil shipments through its proposed pipeline-expansion project.

The company hopes to nearly triple the amount of oil to 890,000 barrels per day, much of which will be exported on tankers travelling through Burrard Inlet.