/Reuters Agency
A protest against climate change off the coast of Australia forced an incoming vessel to turn around and abandon its arrival at one of the country’s main coal export terminals, resulting in 11 arrests.
New South Wales state police reported that those arrested were charged with “alleged maritime offenses” during the protest near the port facility of Newcastle, located 170 kilometers from the state capital, Sydney.
According to the state government, the port is the largest bulk cargo port on Australia’s east coast.
A spokesperson for the Port of Newcastle stated that one vessel was prevented from entering the port, but otherwise, “shipping movements have not been stopped and will continue as scheduled.”
The climate activist group Rising Tide stated that the ship, a coal carrier, was forced to abort its arrival after kayakers, a small boat, and swimmers entered the shipping channel.
“As a result of the protest, the New South Wales police lost control of the channel, and a coal carrier named Cemtex Leader, scheduled to enter the port, was forced to turn around,” Rising Tide reported in a statement, recalling that last year it carried out a similar protest.
Climate change is a divisive issue in Australia, where coal is one of the main commodity exports, along with iron ore.
