Activists rappel off Oregon bridge to stop Shell icebreaker

The stunt on the St. Johns Bridge comes after protesters gathered in a Portland park Tuesday evening, and planned to drop kayaks in the water in a bid to stop the Royal Dutch Shell from leaving port. The ship was scheduled Wednesday to depart for Alaskan waters.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — More than a dozen activists rappelled off the St. Johns Bridge in an effort to stop a Shell Oil Arctic icebreaker from leaving Portland.

“We’ve been planning this for about two weeks, since Shell’s icebreaking vessel ran into something up in the arctic, got a 39-inch hole in its hull and had to race down here to Portland to be repaired”, said Annie Leonard, executive director of Greenpeace USA.

Opponents of Arctic drilling worry that the area’s remoteness and rough conditions will hamper cleanup efforts should a spill occur.

“Our goal is to basically demonstrate as much community resistance to Shell’s plans to drill for oil and secure new oil reserves in the Arctic”, said Meredith Cocks, organizer with environmental activist group Portland Rising Tide.

“It will begin its return journey to Alaska once we’ve completed the final preparations”, said Shell Oil’s Megan Baldino.

“As for the activities of the day, we respect the choice that anyone might make to protest based on Shell’s Arctic aspirations; we just ask that they do so safely and within the boundaries of the law”, Smith wrote.

The advocacy group said 26 climbers are working to block the movement of MV Fennica, chartered to carry critical safety equipment called a capping stack to drilling sites in the Chukchi Sea.

The protest was not affecting vehicle traffic on the bridge, but the sidewalks were blocked. At this point, no arrests have been made and police are continuing to monitor the demonstration.

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