Feature story - November 17, 2008
The Rainbow Warrior has been impounded and the captain arrested after it was boarded by the police three times over the weekend. The ship was part of a protest against the new coal fired power station that E.ON is building next to their existing climate-changing coal plant. The Rainbow Warrior together with one of our other ships - the Beluga II - were blocking the coal port of Rotterdam to stop any coal ships from entering. After spending the day surrounded by police boats they were eventually forced to leave the coal port in the evening.
The Rainbow Warrior boarded by the Dutch Police. After a day of protest inside and outside the E.on power station in Rotterdam, the police stormed the Rainbow Warrior, searched and took the details of all the crew onboard.
The police aggressively took control of the ship, forcing the captain to end the blockade and leave the coal port. The captain arrested and taken for questioning by the police. Our other smaller ship, Beluga II, maintained its position to continue blockading the coal port. But her captain was also arrested and the ship has been impounded along with the Rainbow Warrior.
If only the Dutch government would deal with climate change so aggressively. Instead - the big polluters get a free reign and protesters are silenced immediately. But we wil not remain silent. The Quit Coal Tour continues and the campaign against E.ON and new coal in the Netherlands will only strengthen.
E.ON switched OFF
Before the ship blockade, nearly 100 activists from 18 different countries occupied the construction site where E.ON is building a new climate-changing coal plant. They remained at the site for the whole day before being removed by special police.
Burning coal is the single greatest cause of climate change. Our flagship, the Rainbow Warrior, has been sailing across the Mediterranean and Europe, together with the Arctic Sunrise - calling for this region to quit coal and save the climate.
Governments need to get serious
We're taking this message all the way to Poland where UN climate negotiations will take place in December. We're asking governments to get serious and start phasing out coal. This is essential in order to achieve the emissions reductions required to avoid catastrophic climate change.
Our societies - industries, schools, homes - can use energy more efficiently, reducing pollution and saving money. Clean renewable energy such as wind, wave and solar power can and must be harnessed to provide global energy needs and cut carbon emissions. Our energy [r]evolution blueprint for Europe demonstrates that phasing out nuclear power and massively reducing CO2 emissions is possible.
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