22 June 2009
Campaigners from Greenpeace have boarded a ship delivering coal to the Kingsnorth power station in Kent.
The vessel was targeted as it sailed up the River Medway, with reports of people swimming in front of the ship to stop it docking.
The group, which is protesting against coal-fired power stations, climbed aboard from inflatable speedboats.
However, Kent Police said the vessel still managed to dock at Kingsnorth with some protesters still on board.
Three men and a woman have been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit criminal damage, while another woman has been held on suspicion of endangering an aircraft.
The ship was boarded at about 2250 BST on Sunday as it approached the power station near Hoo.
Action ‘unacceptable’
On Monday morning, several campaigners remained on board, surrounded by officers.
A Greenpeace spokesman said: “There are still five campaigners on the ship so the protest is continuing. They are going to try and hold their position for as long as they can to prevent the coal from being unloaded, but the ship is surrounded with police.”
Ch Supt Matthew said police were using all available resources to bring a safe conclusion to the incident.
He said: “There are no reports of any injuries at this time. Public safety is of paramount importance to the operation.”
A spokeswoman for E.ON, which owns Kingsnorth, said the campaigners’ action was unacceptable.
She said: “Obviously we remain respectful of people’s right to protest but it was a dangerous thing to do — boarding a ship in the middle of the night.
“So our point of view is that this is unacceptable.”
Earlier, campaigner Sarah Shoraka, 31, who climbed the ship’s foremast, said: “There are nine of us on the ship.
“We have split into three teams of three, with one team on foremast, another on the funnel and the third hanging off the side.
“We are using walkie-talkies to stay in contact with each other and have enough food and water to last several days.
“We will stay as long as we can to stop the coal being unloaded.”
A police statement said: “Kent Police received reports of Greenpeace protesters boarding and attempting to impede the berthing of a coal vessel at Kingsnorth power station in Kent.
“Protesters used ribs (rigid inflatable boats) and also entered the water in order to board and prevent the coal vessel from making port.
“They were unsuccessful in their attempts and the coal vessel has now docked.”
Kingsnorth has been at the centre of a climate change row after E.ON announced plans to build a bigger coal-fired power station to replace the existing facility.
If built it would be the first new coal powered plant in the UK for a quarter of a century.
An estimated 1,500 demonstrators attended a climate camp to protest against the plans last August.