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Video: 20,000 tonne coal shipment stopped from reaching Kingsnorth
Posted by jossc on 22 June 2009.
Last night Greenpeace volunteers boarded E.ON's moving bulk freighter Sir Charles Parsons, carrying thousands of tonnes of coals to restock the Kingsnorth coal-fired power station.
They intercepted the freighter using rigid inflatable speedboats just after midnight as the ship sped up the River Medway towards Kingsnorth, then attached climbing ladders to the vessel and scaled the 15 metre hull. Three teams comprising nine people succeeded in boarding the ship. They then scaled the ship's huge funnel and the towering foremast to stop the ship from unloading.
The ship is now docked at the Kingsnorth quayside, but no coal has yet been unloaded. The intention is to delay the offloading of the coal cargo for as long as possible. Police are on the scene and have already made six arrests, but we still have four volunteers aboard with enough food and water to stay for several days, if necessary.
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Reposted article
Hi, I just wanted to let you know I've reposted this on our blog at http://moraleconomy.wordpress.com . Kudos to all the folks involved - I hope this gets a lot of attention.
In what specific way was the ship stopped?
It docked - it unloaded - why spin to the point of lies?
You tried - you failed - try again, don't lie.
Failure?
I have to say that, coming as part of what we believe to be an effective campaign against dirty coal power in the UK, and as an intervention to halt and slow the pollution of the atmosphere, we're not seeing it in that way, but you're obviously entitled to your opinion.
What do others think? Was this a failure? Do you see it differently?
Success
You have achieved publicity and effecting public opinion is the biggest weapon against climate change!
victory
The whole point of these types of actions is to draw media attention, to inform others about the dirty coal, a few of my friends didn't even know about kingsnorth until this, so it is a victory!
Video: 20,000 tonne coal shipment stopped from reaching Kingsnor
I have sympathy with many of Greenpeace's aims. But actions like this leave me perplexed and I'm sure will alienate many of the people you want onside.
What if the gallant Sarah had fallen overboard and drowned or been drawn under the ship's propeller? Would her death be justified?
And what of the crew on the ship? They have a difficult enough job to do without a bunch of lunatics boarding their ship trying to make a point. The crew members are just trying to make a living.
There are efforts to offset the use of coal power stations - the coast of Kent has a massive wind farm springing up. But they will take time to commission, so there is a need for conventional power stations to keep pace with current demand until sufficient power comes from elsewhere.
Perhaps the only really effective way to stop new power stations being built is for all Greenpeace members to bin their electrical goods - no fridges, TVs, cookers, or computers - and minimise consumption.
I know THAT won't happen. But perhaps more responsible protests that don't alienate those you want to get onside might address the issue.
To respond...
We have an excellent safety record from all our interventions to stop pollution. If you want to talk about people being harmed, let's not forget that people are dying around the world because we choose to burn coal for no other reasons than it's cheap, and it's the way we've done it up until now.
I think the other issues - about whether we 'need' coal or not, are being covered pretty comprehensively over on another thread: here - http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/blog/climate/swimming-out-coal-freighter-20090622
Cheers,
Christian @ GPUK
Awesome action - well done
Well done.
It is great to see a sustained campaign, backed up with action and sound logic, against these dinosaur industries that are killing us all. Well done Greenpeace - keep it up!!