Climate activists have blocked three coal vessels from entering Australia’s Port of Newcastle — the world’s largest coal export hub — as part of a major protest led by the environmental movement Rising Tide. The action, which began Thursday and is expected to run until Tuesday, has drawn thousands of demonstrators demanding an end to fossil fuel expansion.
Since the start of the blockade, hundreds of protesters have taken to the water in small boats, forming a floating barrier inside the port. Others lined the shoreline in solidarity, turning the normally busy industrial route into a symbolic battleground over Australia’s climate policies.
Located about 170 kilometres north of Sydney, Newcastle is the main coal-shipping port on Australia’s east coast — a position that has long made it a flashpoint in a country deeply divided over climate change and the future of its fossil fuel industry.
Greenpeace Australia Pacific reported that three of its activists boarded a coal ship near the port, halting operations in what the group described as a peaceful, non-violent intervention.
“These protests are a message to Australia’s leaders that people will act if the government refuses to do its job,” said Dr. Ellen O’Donnell of Greenpeace. She stressed that Australia ranks as the world’s third-largest exporter of fossil fuels, adding that every coal shipment leaving Newcastle “helps fuel more bushfires, more floods and more cyclones.”
Dozens Arrested After Maritime Exclusion Zone Breached
New South Wales police said 11 people were arrested on Saturday afternoon for entering a temporary maritime exclusion zone imposed by the state government until Monday morning. A further 22 arrests were made on Sunday for similar breaches.
Rising Tide noted that some detainees face fines of up to 1,100 Australian dollars for entering the restricted area, while others have been charged under stricter anti-protest laws carrying penalties of up to two years in prison.
The group claimed that more than 100 protesters were detained on Sunday alone. Police have not confirmed that figure, but said in an earlier statement that 21 individuals were arrested and charged with “alleged maritime offences” during the blockade.
Greenpeace activists scaled a coal ship at Newcastle on Sunday.
Photograph: Greenpeace (TheGardian)
Government Accused of Climate Hypocrisy
Jo Rafałowicz, head of climate and energy at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, criticised the federal government for continuing to approve new coal and gas projects despite having signed the Belém Declaration at COP30 in Brazil — described as Australia’s strongest climate pledge to date to keep global warming below 1.5°C.
Rising Tide is calling on the government to cancel all new fossil fuel projects, impose a 78% windfall tax on coal and gas profits to fund clean-energy transition and climate-damage compensation, and to end coal exports from Newcastle by 2030.
A spokesperson for the Port of Newcastle said on Sunday night that shipping operations would resume on Monday as scheduled, following a temporary suspension that affected all cargo movements, including alumina deliveries to Australia’s largest aluminium smelter.
Coal remains one of Australia’s most valuable export commodities alongside iron ore. Despite committing to net-zero emissions by 2050, the country continues to rely heavily on its fossil fuel sector, drawing sharp criticism from environmental groups and climate scientists.
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