Peace protesters freed on pledge

Press, 14 August 1982, Page 2

Peace protesters freed on pledge

NZPA staff correspondent Washington Protesters who tried to block the nuclear submarine Ohio have been freed after those arrested pledged that they, would stay on the North American continent for any future court case. The Ohio, America’s first Trident submarine, sailed to her home port of Bangor, near Seattle, as a convoy of Coast Guard vessels made a pre-emptive strike against the rag-tag protest flotilla headed by the Pacific Peacemaker, a 16.5 m steel

ketch financed by Australian and New Zealand groups, and the Canadian trimaran Lizard of Woz. The Coast Guard seized both boats before they had any chance to get close to the nuclear submarine, but a speedboat breached the 3000 m security zone round the submarine to circle her and disappear before the Coast Guard or Navy'had a chance to halt it. The protest fleet included rowing boats, painted bright orange, which were strung out - on a rope behind the Peacemaker as she sailed out of Oak Bay into Puget

Sound in a vain attempt to intercept the submarine. Reports of what happened were still confused 15 hours after the event. A Coast Guard spokesman, Lieutenant-Commander Tom Pearson, said that the Coast Guard arrested 14 protesters under the Ports and Waterways Safety Act, which covers any person endangering local shipping, and that the Navy arrested,one protester who breached the moving 3000 m security zone. The pacific Peacemaker and the Lizard of Woz were both seized and taken to the Bangor naval base. u