CLIMATE-change protesters are planning to disrupt fuel logistics at the Port Botany Bulk Liquids Berth on Thursday 10 June.
Protest group Extinction Rebellion said they “will blockade liquid fuel distribution centres in Sydney and Melbourne”.
The group said the protest action will run from 1600 to 1800 on June 10 at Friendship Road at Port Botany. They are also planning to stage an action at 1630 at ExxonMobil’s Yarraville Terminal in Melbourne on the same day.
The group said the action is intended to “highlight the short-sightedness and inadequacy of the government’s gas-led recovery” and to “ensure a just transition for workers in the fossil fuel industry”.
DCN understands that, while the protests at the Botany Bulk Liquids Terminal aren’t apparently directed at container transport, operators are concerned about the level of disruption the protest may cause.
Extinction Rebellion describes itself as a “decentralised, international and politically non-partisan movement using non-violent direct action and civil disobedience to persuade governments to act justly on the climate and ecological emergency”.
Protest port disruption in Europe
The same protest group has been carrying out protest actions at the Port of Hamburg over the past week. According to media reports, protesters have blocked roads and a bridge, which are important arteries in the port.
It appears that the protests have exacerbated already severe congestion problems at the German port.
Both Maersk and MSC issued notices this week saying they would omit Hamburg on four voyages on their AE7/Condor Service. The ships are diverting to Bremerhaven.
Maersk said the diversion was “a result of high yard density and exceptional waiting time for our vessels in the port of Hamburg”. MSC cited “a severe congestion issue in Hamburg Eurogate Terminal”.
