Authorities have forced protesters in kayaks from a river in Portland, Oregon, where they were trying to stop a Royal Dutch Shell icebreaker from leaving dry dock and joining an Arctic oil drilling operation.
Police also tried to lower protesters who were dangling from a bridge into the water below. Sergeant Pete Simpson said safety was the main priority, and police and coast guard officers were joined by firefighters and a rope-rescue team.
A federal judge in Alaska had earlier ordered Greenpeace USA to pay a fine of $2,500 for every hour that protesters continued to block the icebreaker from leaving for the Arctic.
US district court judge Sharon Gleason ruled on Thursday in Anchorage that Greenpeace was in civil contempt because of protesters dangling off the bridge and impeding the vessel.
Greenpeace USA executive director Annie Leonard said: “Shell is still trying to circumvent the growing global call to preserve the Arctic, and has turned to the courts for help.”
The activists hung themselves from the bridge on Wednesday at approximately 3am PT, delaying the departure of the oil company’s 380ft Fennica icebreaker. The vessel was originally scheduled to leave that afternoon.
The ship set out early Thursday morning local time with police escorts but stopped short of the bridge and remained idle. The US coastguard told protesters to leave but they continued to block its path. The ship then turned around and returned to dock.
Backincamp - the Fennica is no longer in sight. That was one hell of wake up call and very exciting morning. #ShellNo pic.twitter.com/kEQS0K7X2D
— Dan Cannon (@DanEnviroCannon) July 30, 2015
Other protesters, nicknamed “kayaktivists”, also joined Greenpeace by taking to the water below in kayaks.
Gleason in May granted Shell’s request that activists protesting Shell’s Arctic drilling plans be ordered to stay away from Shell vessels and beyond buffer zones.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
