July 31, 2015
Portland police closed the St. Johns Bridge Thursday afternoon as 13 protesters hung from the bridge in an attempt to stop the Shell Oil icebreaker Fennica from its path to the Arctic. After nearly two days of hanging from the bridge, the dangling protesters were lowered one by one into the Willamette River. The protesters said they were cited with criminal trespassing and interfering with a peace officer. The moment that three protesters were removed, the Fennica began heading towards the St. Johns Bridge. "Kayaktivists" in the Willamette tried to move in front of the boat's path but crews pushed them away and the ship passed under the bridge just before 6 p.m. It was expected to reach Astoria by 11:50 p.m.
"The Fennica is now safely on its way to Alaska and will join Shell's exploration fleet in the Chukchi Sea -- where the Transocean Polar Pioneer commenced initial drilling operations at approximately 5:00 tonight AKDT," Shell Oil said. Coast Guard, Oregon State Police, Portland Fire & Rescue crews and other local and state agencies responded to the scene Thursday afternoon. Members of Portland Fire's high-angle rescue team lowered down from the bridge and cut the ropes connecting the dangling protesters to each other.
Meanwhile, a separate protester from the local environmentalist group Portland Rising Tide locked his neck to the Oregon Slough Railroad Bridge using a bike lock. Crews cut the lock from his neck and took him off the bridge. He was handcuffed and taken into custody. Crews asked the dangling protesters whether they would leave voluntarily before other action was taken. They denied the requests before lowering themselves voluntarily one at a time starting around 4:30 p.m. Crews were forcibly moving the kayaktivists beneath the bridge by hooking their kayaks to jet skis and pulling them closer to shore.
"Our number one priority is safety," said Sgt. Pete Simpson of Portland police. Multiple people were put in plastic handcuffs and escorted off the bridge Thursday afternoon. Those people were apparently other protesters who were standing on the bridge, acting as helpers for the danglers.
The bridge was closed in both directions to cars, bikes and pedestrians Thursday afternoon and evening. The Willamette River was also closed from Swan Island to Kelley Point during the protest. The bridge was reopened shortly after 8 p.m.
A small crowd of protesters not associated with Greenpeace was on the St. Johns end of the bridge and some were yelling at police.
Every hour the protesters hung from the bridge, Greenpeace was fined $2,500. That number would have risen each day the protesters blocked the ship's path. The final tally as the Fennica passed the bridge was $17,500.
A Greenpeace spokeswoman called the protest a success. "We found that the blockade was successful," said Mary Nicol of Greenpeace. "Climate change does present a real threat to everyone globally." She said the organization is prepared to accept the financial consequences of the protests. She hopes the protest will spur President Obama to reconsider allowing Shell Oil to drill in the Arctic. Mayor Charlie Hales released the following statement about the protest: "This was a hard day for me – and for a lot of people in Portland. I oppose drilling in the Arctic. But it was a great day for Portland in these ways: First, we made sure everyone was safe. Everyone was committed to safety, including the protesters, our amazing first responders, the Coast Guard, and the activists. That was our first priority. Our second priority was free speech. It was imperative that the protesters be heard. They were, on a national and even international scale. That's something we all believe in, here in Portland. And third, we enforced the law. Now it's time to move from protest to action: to changing the laws. After all, that's the point of the protest. I want to thank everyone involved in this situation."