Golden-Soul

Approximately 170 climate protestors have been arrested and the 'Golden Soul' was forced to turn back at the Port of Newcastle as an activist blockade of the world’s largest coal port continued. The group first hit the waters with surfboards, kayaks and boats on Nov 22, 2024, for a three-day demonstration at the Port of Newcastle. Three people were charged on Nov 23 after allegedly remaining in a shipping channel despite officers instructing them to move. On Nov 24 170 protestors were arrested for refusing to comply with a direction to move away from the channel. 156 adults and 14 youths have now been charged in total - 138 with disruption of a major facility, and 32 with not comply with direction by authorised officer relating to safety. Particularly of concern were some of the safety risks that occurred; 34 people were required to be pulled out of the water during arrests by the police marine area command or divers .10 people required to be assisted back to shore by water police because they couldn’t get back to shore by themselves and we had one infant, probably about 12 months of age, who was sighted in a kayak out on the water. The police were placed in some really dangerous situations as were members of the Rising Tide organisation. Unfortunately, one of the police officers has rolled his ankle and fractured his ankle as a result of the actions of these protestors. About five people were arrested outside the water footprint, while there were hundreds of infringement notices given to demonstrators. There may be more arrests. The Port of Newcastle said disruption due to the protest was minimal, but the 'Golden Soul' aborted the call due to people in the channel and has been rescheduled to come in. The harbour was still operational despite the protests. Report with photos: https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/crime/approximately-170-climate-protestors-arrested-inbound-ship-forced-to-turn-back-at-port-of-newcastle-anticoal-demonstration/news-story/34616780259c23d20abbcc13e7f6a02c