U.S. Coast Guard fines activists for delaying an icebreaker’s departure from Portland.
BY JACOB PALMER | DIGITAL NEWS EDITOR
The U.S. Coast Guard has fined five Greenpeace activists for delaying an icebreaker’s departure from Portland.
Each will pay $5,000, which they can appeal, for blocking a Royal Dutch Shell ship from heading to the Arctic.
The protesters facing the fines include three who dangled on lines below the St. John’s bridge for 40 hours, and two support staff who were on the deck of the bridge.
The icebreaking vessel Fennica arrived in Portland late last month for repairs to its hull after sustaining damage in the Aleutian Islands.
(SOURCE: OPB)
RELATED NEWS: Greenpeace (temporarily) prevents Shell oil ship from leaving Portland
The fines would come on top of penalties expected to be exacted on Greenpeace, which organized the protests. Activists roped themselves to the St. Johns Bridge early July 29 and remained there for about 41 hours.
A judge had ordered Greenpeace to pay $2,500 for each hour, starting at around 11 a.m. on July 30, that the activist group blocked the Fennica’s northward path.
(SOURCE: Portland Business Journal)
The activists claimed a moral victory, but the ship is en route to the Arctic, where drilling could last years.
RELATED NEWS: What are Shell’s plans for ship that was delayed in Portland?
