Police cut away final ship protesters
Greenpeace climate and energy campaigner Amanda Larsson says she is incredibly proud of the efforts of the 27 protesters, who stormed offshore supply vessel Skandi Atlantic about 6am on Sunday.
The final two protesters, a man and a woman, were removed from the vessel shortly before 3pm yesterday afternoon, 57 hours after forcefully boarding the ship.
‘‘We have succeeded in stopping this oil support vessel from getting to the drill site in the past two days.
‘‘We’ve got Nick and Magdelina, who were the last two on the ship standing strong, and cut away by police officers.
‘‘This ship was due to leave on Sunday night and is still here on Tuesday afternoon so they’ve been successful.’’
About two hours earlier, police built scaffolding and a plastic screen around the mast of a vessel as they attempted to remove the last of the Greenpeace protesters in the Timaru port.
The protesters had been bolted to the Austrian-owned Skandi Atlantic since about 6am on Sunday.
Police used an angle grinder to cut the protesters loose but they obscured the view of watchers by erecting a blue screen around the scene.
Earlier, an unrepentant protester trespassed from the vessel yesterday morning told Stuff he knew he was breaking the law but said ‘‘sometimes good people have to disobey bad laws’’.
Jack Brazil was one of 27 protesters who boarded the vessel in an event aimed at preventing it from leaving for an oil drilling site off the coast of Taranaki.
Brazil, who was locked on to the vessel’s mast by a pipe lock on his arm, left at 9am after being issued with a trespass warrant, leaving two others attached to the mast – the last protesters still on board.
He said while they were up on the mast, they ate energy-dense foods and minimally. They took Imodium and ‘‘if push came to shove, used containers’’.
Police were back on board the vessel yesterday morning, removing and arresting six people. Police were earlier seen climbing a mast of the ship and appeared to be negotiating with the then three protesters up there.