Second activist arrested from animal feed cargo ship

Greenpeace says the ship's cargo of palm kernel feed contributes to climate change. Photo / Greenpeace

Tauranga police have arrested two protestors as Greenpeace targets a ship moored off Tauranga.

Activists boarded the ship East Ambition this morning and chained themselves to the vessel, protesting over the import of palm kernel animal feed. They claim it is linked to the destruction of rainforests.

Tauranga Area Commander Inspector Mike Clement says police have removed and arrested two protestors. One was on the ladder of the ship and the other had been secured to the anchor chain.

Mr Clement says police believe there are 17 protestors in total, with 14 onboard the East Ambition and three supporting in an inflatable boat. He says it is a peaceful protest, but there are significant safety concerns for protestors and emergency personnel.

Police are still in discussions with Greenpeace.

Meanwhile Greenpeace is rejecting a claim from Fonterra the palm kernel at the centre of a protest is not theirs.

Fonterra says the East Ambition cargo ship is not carrying any of its palm kernel animal feed.

But Greenpeace spokesman Simon Boxer says Fonterra cannot deny its link to the shipment.

"They are driving this. They are directly doing shipments as well, with their own companies, but there are other suppliers involved in supplying Fonterra dairy farms.

"So they can't try and shirk their responsibility here. They are the ones directly implicated in that rainforest destruction in Indonesia and Malaysia."

Mr Boxer said the feed would end up on farmers that supply Fonterra with milk. He said most dairy farmers supply milk to Fonterra and it is on those farms that the palm kernel feed will be used.

"They [Fonterra] are trying to pull a fast one, they're really misleading people," Mr Boxer said.

He said Fonterra are driving the trade in palm kernel feed and it is Fonterra who can put an end to it.

The activists boarded the boat from Indonesia this morning, chaining themselves to the boat and its four cargo cranes off the coast of Tauranga.

They were preventing it unloading saying the shipment of palm kernel animal feed from Indonesia was destined for Fonterra dairy farms.

Bearing banners reading "Fonterra Climate Crime", they called on Prime Minister John Key to halt imports of the product due to its impact on climate change.

But John Lea, chief executive of Fonterra's rural merchandising company RD1, said the East Ambition was not carrying a shipment for Fonterra.

"So taking a Fonterra banner out and chaining themselves to this ship is nothing more than a dangerous publicity stunt that puts people's lives at risk and potentially damages New Zealand's reputation as a lawful country," he said.

Greenpeace this afternoon said around half a dozen police are onboard assessing the situation.

One of the activists, Jo McVeagh, earlier said Fonterra's involvement with palm kernel feed was "criminal".

"This ship's cargo has contributed to the release of up to 364,000 tonnes of carbon emissions. That's the same as the emissions from 127,000 cars over a year," Ms McVeagh said.

Mr Lea acknowledged that Fonterra's RD1 did import palm kernel as a small (about 1 per cent), but important, feed source for New Zealand dairy cows.

"However, prior to commencing shipments of PKE (palm kernel extract) we went to considerable lengths, including my personal visit to their operations, to find a sustainable supplier," he said.

RD1's supplier, Wilmar, was a founding member of the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil. A recent audit by the World Bank found that Wilmar was managing its operations in accordance with the roundtable's principles, he said.

"We're continuing to work with Wilmar to do everything we can to ensure that every tonne of PKE, which is a waste product of the palm oil industry, is truly sustainable."

Protester removed

Ms McVeagh said the police came past this morning and removed a protester who had chained themselves to the pilot ladder.

She is chained to one of the boat's cargo cranes and is harnessed high up in the crane.

She said the protesters have had a friendly response from the crew.

"We came on board this morning and they all said good morning. There's been a bit of waving," Ms McVeagh said.

Ms McVeagh said the protesters have provisions and will stay on board as long as they can.

She said the palm kernel crop encourages rain forest destruction and adds to climate change.

Federated Farmers have previously said palm kernel feed is a cheap feed but Ms McVeagh said that undermines the local feed business which includes maize farmers and silage producers. She said using palm kernel feed also increases the carbon footprint of New Zealand products because it has to be transported.

Mr Boxer said New Zealand imported 1.1 million tonnes of palm kernel last year, creating up to 20 million tonnes of greenhouse emissions in the process.

"Fonterra's intensification of the dairy industry is fuelling rainforest destruction, increasing greenhouse gas emissions here and abroad, putting pressure on the health of our land and threatening our clean, green reputation," Mr Boxer said.

He said importing palm kernel animal feed undermined the New Zealand Government's negotiating position at the upcoming international climate change talks in Copenhagen.

"If John Key continues to stand by and allow this kind of hypocrisy, New Zealand's credibility in the negotiations could be damaged," Mr Boxer said.

Mr Boxer said the protesters informed the port, the pilot and the ship's captain what they were doing before they boarded.

However, Port of Tauranga corporate services manager Terry James told NZPA the port was first aware of the boarding when it saw there was a small craft tied alongside.

The port was having problems talking to the ship, he said.

Cameras, which normally helped with guiding ships into the port, could make out a Greenpeace activist tied to the ship's anchor chain, which stopped the ship from either raising or lowering the anchor, and protesters in the ship's cranes.

Mr James said the situation was a concern to the port because the last Greenpeace protest threatened the health and safety of all those involved in the recovery exercise after a protest aboard a coal ship at berth about six or seven years ago.

Port of Tauranga chief executive Mark Cairns said protesters would not prevent the ship from being unloaded.

The protesters could be charged with illegally boarding a vessel as well as breaking customs laws.

- with NZPA