Greenpeace activists invade Amazon Warrior support vessel as it arrives at Port Taranaki
Wednesday, 31 January 2018
A group of Greenpeace activists have been arrested after breaking into Port Taranaki and boarding a supply ship in protest of oil and gas exploration.
The five protesters, two men and three women, gained entry to the port operations area by breaching security fences early Wednesday morning.
They boarded The Mermaid Searcher, which is collecting supplies for the Amazon Warrior, a Schlumberger-owned 125-metre long ship carrying out seismic surveying in an area off the Taranaki coast on behalf of a number of oil and gas companies.
While on board, two of the women chained themselves to the deck and the two men climbed the ship's mast where they unfurled a Greenpeace banner.
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As the day progressed, the three women and one of the men were arrested, eventually leaving Nick Hanafin chained to the mast and planning to stay the night, despite looming bad weather.
'I've got everything I need with me to stay for a few more hours or over night if necessary,' Hanafin said at 5.26pm.
But by 7pm the police confirmed Hanafin was down, off the ship and in custody.
Earlier in the day Hanafin said he was proud of the group's efforts.
'The real objective today was to show opposition to the work of the Amazon Warrior and the new exploration for oil and gas in New Zealand.'
The climbing instructor from Christchurch said he had been holding up well after a day on the ship.
'It has been a warm but windy day,' he said.
Port Taranaki chief executive Guy Roper said port authorities and police were investigating how the protesters gained access to the vessel through the port operations zone and onto the breakwater berth.
According to Greenpeace, officials from the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) were travelling from Wellington to charge them under the Crown Minerals Act, the so-called 'Anadarko Amendment', which makes it an offence to interfere with oil exploration ships at sea.
A ministry spokesperson confirmed its staff were in New Plymouth and would investigate potential breaches of the act legislation.
'However, no charges have been laid by our staff,' she added in a statement.
'MBIE respects/recognises the rights of people to protest, but this needs to be balanced with the rights of a business to carry out their lawful activities.'
Greenpeace climate campaigner Amanda Larsson said they had targeted the ship because the Amazon Warrior was 'blasting' thousands of square kilometres of the New Zealand seabed in search of oil and gas.
The area is also a blue whale habitat and the whale's only known feeding ground in New Zealand.
'By stopping the resupply vessel, we're impacting the Amazon Warrior's search for oil and gas in New Zealand's pristine ocean,' she said.
'The Amazon Warrior will do whatever it can to avoid coming into port because it knows it will face strong opposition by the public.
'We won't let the Amazon Warrior carry out its climate-destroying activities quietly, out of sight and mind.'
In a statement, Roper confirmed the protesters entered the port's operations area early on Wednesday morning and had since been issued with trespass notices.
He said while he supported the right to peaceful protest, he did not condone action that put people's safety at risk.
'The operations area of Port Taranaki is a hazardous environment and health and safety is paramount.
'We are concerned for the welfare of all the people affected by this action, including the protesters.
'There is forecast bad weather approaching therefore disembarking them from the vessel quickly and safely is our focus and we are supporting the police to achieve this.'
Roper said the port operations area remained open for business.
In a statement, Petroleum Exploration and Production New Zealand (PEPANZ) CEO Cameron Madgwick called the protest 'very disappointing and unfair to the crew working on this vessel' and accused Greenpeace of intimidating workers.
'We totally respect the right of Greenpeace to protest but at the same time they should respect the rights of others to go about their lawful business.
'Climate change is a serious issue and it requires governments, energy companies, NGOs and environmental groups to work together to find answers.
'Intimidating the crew who are just doing their jobs is not the way to achieve this.
'The exploration work is also looking for natural gas which has much lower emissions than many other fuels and real potential to help us lower our net emissions.
'Oil and gas provides half of New Zealand's energy, powering our homes, businesses and way of life. As well as transport it also helps cook our food, heat our homes and create a huge range of essential goods.
'Turning this supply off overnight is just not realistic. Instead we need to have a serious discussion on how to lower our net emissions while meeting a growing demand for energy in an economically and environmentally rational way.'
Greenpeace also called on the government to put a stop to new exploration.
'Jacinda Ardern says climate change is her generation's nuclear free moment. Going nuclear free meant courageously standing up to the US military and stopping the nuclear ships. Taking action on climate change requires the guts to stand up to the powerful oil industry and stop their exploration ships.
'Now is the moment. It's time for Jacinda's government to end the search for new oil.'
The protest is similar to one in which Greenpeace activists, including TV star Lucy Lawless, chained themselves to the Noble Discoverer in 2012.
At the time the ship had been scheduled to leave the port to drill three exploratory oil wells in the Chukchi Sea off the coast of Alaska.