Fines ordered as long as ship blocked from heading to Arctic

Authorities used boats, personal watercraft, poles and their bare hands to remove protesters in kayaks and hanging from bridges who had tried to block a Royal Dutch Shell icebreaker bound for an Arctic drilling operation.

Baldino said the Portland protest is neither safe nor legal.

The St. Johns Bridge is at a key location on the icebreaker Fennica’s route from Portland to the Arctic.

Greenpeace USA must immediately get its activists out of the way of a vessel contracted to work in the Arctic for Shell or face fines ramping up each day until it does.

What’s a multibillion-dollar energy giant to do when 13 mean activists in hammocks block its ship from pressing Arctic plunder? Helpers on the bridge lowered them supplies.

The demonstrators have yet to move from the St. Johns Bridge, which was closed to traffic as police arrived.

The icebreaker Fennica has been in a Portland shipyard since Saturday for repairs.

Portland vs. Shell organizer Antonio Zamora, inspired by Indigenous resistance group Idle No More, says he thinks activists could be doing more.

By 4:30 p.m., the protesters began coming down from the bridge.

“We are confronted with a huge decision, one we can not make alone”, Greenpeace USA Executive Director Annie Leonard told The Seattle Times.

“They were peaceful and cooperative as we interacted with them”, said Tyler.

He also said the agency had not told the icebreaker to turn around. “We are pleased with today’s court ruling that holds Greenpeace in contempt and prescribes fines for further non-compliance”. Alaska governor Bill Walker has also reached out to Portland mayor Charlie Hales and Oregon governor Kate Brown for their help in stopping the stand-off.

“Alaska and the United States have the chance to be leaders in responsible offshore drilling in the Arctic”, Walker said in the release. “I hope that leaders from outside Alaska can understand and respect that”.

Under conditions of Shell’s well-drilling permit and other authorizations from regulators, the company is allowed to penetrate the upper, non-hydrocarbon-bearing zone without the Fennica present, she noted.

The activists, who began the demonstration early Wednesday morning, are equipped with food, water, cell phones, and no immediate plans to leave: “Environmentalists hope to delay the ship long enough for winter weather to prevent Shell from drilling until 2016”, reports the Associated Press.