warsnips elude protest flotilla

Press, 30 September 1986, Page 8

warsnips elude protest flotilla

NZPA-Reuter Sydney United States and British warships evaded an armada of anti-nuclear protest craft yesterday and entered Sydney harbour for the Australian Navy’s seventy-fifth birthday celebrations. About 100 protest craft, including yachts, canoes, rubber dinghies and surfboards, were outmanoeuvred when the naval ships made an abrupt turn and proceeded smoothly to the anchorage. The Sydney Peace Sqadron was unable to repeat previous feats when surfers clung to the bows of visiting nuclear ships. Dozens of police and marine vessels provided a safety screen for the warships, which included the British aircraft carrier Illustrious and U.S. ships Missouri and Paul F. Foster.

A protester on a surfboard slipped past the protective cordon but a police boat intercepted him before he could reach the bow of the Paul F. Foster which was steaming at 17 knots. Naval authorities had earlier warned protesters to keep at least 30m from the, warships.

More than 40 ships from the United States, Britain, Canada, France, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Australia are taking part in the celebrations.

The anti-nuclear demonstrators targetted the United States and British ships, which, they said, posed a threat to Australia’s most populous city by carrying nuclear weapons.

The United States and Britain will neither confirm nor deny whether navy vessels carry nuclear weapons.