On the 30th of August, my ship was entering Long Point Bay on Lake Erie, heading for Nanticoke to unload coal. At about 7:30 am, we received a radio transmission from a Greenpeace ship, who informed us that they were going to peacefully protest the fact that we were carrying coal to be burned at a generating station. At around 8 am, with no warning, a Zodiac pulled alongside us, while we were still underway, someone on board it threw a boarding ladder over our rails, and before we could react, two activists scaled the ladder and chained themselves to our unloading boom.
(Keep in mind how incredibly dangerous this is. If that person was to fall, they would die. No question about it. We were moving at 12 knots (about 14 miles per hour) and 300 feet behind that person is a propeller consisting of three 9 foot high blades! A woman was killed this summer in Montreal because she decided to go for a swim off a yacht when a ship was passing! she was sucked underwater by the propeller wash and drowned.)
Next the people in the Zodiacs painted "No Coal! No Nukes! Clean Energy!" on the side of the ship.
On orders from our head office we reduced speed and went to anchor to await the proper authorities to remove the people from the ship. Once the propeller stopped, a third activist suspended herself from a lifting point above the rudder, in an attempt to prevent us from moving again.
Again, seriously dangerous, not only to her, but also to the ship. If we had dragged anchor (if the anchor started to slip and move along the bottom), the ship would be helpless to prevent ourselves from running aground, and possibly causing an enviromental disaster.
After about 4 hours, the Ontario Police Tactical Terrorist Unit came alongside and removed the activists.
In my opinon, this isn't a 'peaceful protest'. When a ship is illegally boarded while at sea, it is considered piracy. Under the International Maritime Organization's Maritime Security Act (which both Canada and the USA are signatories to), any illegal boarding of a ship raises the vessels security level to MARSEC 3, which is a terrorist act. If we had been in American waters when this happened and we had informed the US Coast Guard of a terrorist act, these two 'activists' would be in a lot more hot water than they are in Canada! Here, they've been charged with two counts of criminal mischief apiece.
Not to mention, the cost of the cleanup of the ship's side ($2000 of marine paint, not to mention the overtime cost of the crew to repaint as quickly as possible); the cost of having a fully loaded ship sitting idly at anchor for 24 hours ($40,000/day): once a ship goes to MARSEC 3, there are specific procedures that must be followed to return to a normal operating level and it takes a while to do; and the emotional cost to the crew. I (and 7 others) were supposed to get off for scheduled vacation that day. Having to wait another day may not seem like a big deal to some, but keep in mind, I had been on that ship for 4.5 months without a dayoff! The rest hadn't been off in 3 months. My watchman had a cracked forearm suffered in a fall two days before and had to wait an extra 24 hours before seeing a doctor!
Now, TFP, is this a peaceful protest?