One of Australia's biggest coal export ports will resume operations on Monday, the port operator said, after "climate change" activists disrupted shipping at the Port of Newcastle for a second day on Sunday.
Extremist activist group Rising Tide, which claimed responsibility for the latest protest, said hundreds of activists paddled kayaks into the shipping lane of Newcastle Harbour on Sunday morning, violating an exclusion zone.
"Vessel ops will resume tomorrow as scheduled," a Port of Newcastle spokesperson said late on Sunday, after general cargo movements, including alumina bound for Australia's largest aluminium smelter, Tomago, were aborted due to the protest.
Rising Tide said more than 100 protesters were arrested on Sunday. Police did not immediately respond to a request to confirm the number, but said in an earlier statement that 21 people were arrested and charged with "marine-related offences" at the protest.
Controversial activist group Greenpeace Australia Pacific said three of its activists climbed onto a coal ship near the port, a very dangerous action, stopping it from operating, as part of what it said was a peaceful protest.
"Greenpeace, alongside Rising Tide and thousands of everyday people, are taking actions big and small this weekend," Greenpeace Australia Pacific "Head of Climate and Energy" Joe Rafalowicz said in a statement.
On Saturday, a protest at Newcastle forced an inbound ship to turn back and police made 11 arrests. A similar multi-day climate action occurred last year, when 170 protesters were arrested.
Coal is one of Australia's top commodity exports, along with iron ore. Australia's far-left government has committed to reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, a crusade that has sent energy prices soaring to among the highest in the world.
[There is no logical explanation for anyone to get in a small boat and manoeuvre dangerously close to a much larger vessel as a form of protest. For one thing, the wake generated by a larger ship's propellers could result in hazardous conditions for any small boats nearby. Needless to say, whichever type of protest action people choose to engage in should not be done at the expense of safety, theirs and everyone else's. –Ed]
(Reporting by Sam McKeith in Sydney; Editing by Michael Perry)
