One of Australia’s largest coal export ports, the Port of Newcastle, will resume operations on December 1. For the previous two days, the port’s shipping channel was continuously blocked by climate activists, preventing multiple vessels from entering and departing normally.
The environmental organization Rising Tide stated that on the morning of November 30, hundreds of its members paddled kayaks into the port’s shipping channel, entered a restricted area, forcing vessel traffic to be suspended again. The port, located about 170 kilometers from Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, is the most important bulk cargo hub on Australia’s east coast, and the climate issue has long been a subject of controversy within Australia.
The port confirmed in the evening of November 30 that “vessel operations will resume as planned tomorrow.” Due to the protest actions that day, general cargo shipping was temporarily forced to halt, including alumina shipments destined for Tomago, Australia’s largest aluminum smelter, which were disrupted.
Rising Tide claimed that over 100 protesters were taken away by police that day. Police have not confirmed this number but had earlier reported that 21 people had been arrested and charged for allegedly violating maritime control regulations. Greenpeace Australia Pacific stated that three of its members climbed onto a coal ship near the port that day, preventing the vessel from continuing operations, emphasizing this was part of a “peaceful protest.”
ABC News reported that the “Cemtex Leader” and “Yangze 16” were two of the vessels affected by the port shipping disruptions. Data from COSCO Shipping Technology’s ship vision platform showed that the “Cemtex Leader” departed from Kannon Port, Japan on November 4 and arrived at the Port of Newcastle on November 30; the “Yangze 16” departed from Guangzhou Port on November 4 and arrived at the Port of Newcastle on November 27.
