By NZPA / Chris Whitworth
Police have arrested two of the Greenpeace protesters on board a Tauranga-bound ship bringing palm kernel to New Zealand.
Tauranga area commander Inspector Mike Clement said police were on board the Hong-Kong registered East Ambition and in discussions with Greenpeace.
He said police had "removed and arrested" two protesters -- one who had been on the ladder of the ship and another who had been secured to the anchor chain.
A dozen activists this morning lashed themselves to the ship and are preventing it unloading. They say the shipment of palm kernel animal feed from Indonesia is destined for Fonterra dairy farms.
Bearing banners reading "Fonterra Climate Crime", they are calling 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.
Fonterra's RD1 did import palm kernel as a small (about 1 percent), but important, feed source for New Zealand dairy cows, Mr Lea said.
"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."
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."
Jo McVeagh, an activist locked to one of the cranes, said Fonterra's involvement in rainforest destruction and the massive climate impact this causes is "criminal".
The Green Party also called for Fonterra to stop importing palm kernel feed.
It cited Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry biosecurity evidence that palm kernel imports were regularly being fumigated with the toxic and ozone-depleting methyl bromide because biosecurity import standards are not being met.
"Not only does palm kernel destroy rainforests and damage New Zealand grain and maize farmers, it has now been proven to be a serious biosecurity threat," said Kevin Hague, Green Party biosecurity spokesman.
"It is extremely worrying that palm kernel imports are being fumigated with methyl bromide. It means this toxic chemical is being introduced into the food chain."
New Zealand grain farmers have been hit by a "perfect storm" with "a large carryover of maize, wheat and barley from last season", according to the Farmers' Weekly magazine, Mr Hague said.
This was due to unsustainable imported feeds like palm kernel being used instead of locally-grown supplementary feeds, he said.
Police are not saying much about their response to the Tauranga incident.
Tauranga area commander Inspector Mike Clement, in a statement, said police were working with port officials and relevant authorities to assess the situation and what actions may be taken.
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.
NZPA / 3 News