Kiwi peace boats in Sydney action

Press, 27 September 1988, Page 1

Kiwi peace boats in Sydney action

NZPA-AAP Sydney New Zealand peace activists made their presence felt yesterday in a protest designed to hamper the entry of five allegedly nuclear-armed warships to Sydney Harbour. Three New Zealand yachts — the Friendship, Metaphor and Dawn Mist — and an assortment of New Zealand kayaks joined a large seaborne and land protest at the entry early yesterday of the British destroyer H.M.S. Edinburgh (which carries Prince Andrew) and United States warships Ingersoll, Berkeley and Brewton. An Auckland Greenpeace activist, Ms Jacqui Barrington, said yesterday from Sydney that research indicated the three United States warships, and the U.S.S. New Jersey, due to arrive in Sydney today, were carrying 19 nuclear weapons with explosive power 100 times greater than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. She said Greenpeace was certain the weapons carried by the

destroyer, Ingersoll, included nuclear cruise missiles oj the kind recently banned in Europe. Greenpeace also says the Ingersoll is certified to handle and fire nuclear-armed ASROC antisubmarine missiles, while the Berkeley and the frigate U.S.S. Brewton, which berthed later in the day, are also certified to carry ASROC missiles. United States policy is to neither confirm nor deny whether ships are carrying nuclear weapons. The fleet of about 40 warships taking part in the Bicentennial Naval Salute seemed oblivious to the about 100 anti-nuclear vessels trying to disrupt their passage. Dozens of protesters — aboard kayaks, yachts, dinghies and surfboards — wore rainbow shirts, and hoisted banners deploring nuclear weapons. More than a dozen police boats were glued to the American ships, blocking protest vessels from moving too close. Greenpeace inflatables had the most success, while the tiny kayaks kept a safe distance from the huge bows.

A small Welcoming contingent kept an uneasy truce on the point, with police looking on. Both police and officials from Greenpeace and a local peace group reported little trouble during proceedings. Navy spokesmen commended the protesters’ behaviour and said several of the visiting captains had expressed surprise that there was so little antagonism. The Nuclear Disarmament Party’s former senator, Mr Robert Wood, said it was the biggest and best protest staged in Sydney. A smaller group of ships will arrive today to complete the turnout of more than 17,000 sailors from 16 nations — nearly twice the size of the Australian Navy’s huge seventy-fifth birthday party two years ago. Similar protests are expected when the battleship U.S.S. New Jersey and British aircraft carrier H.M.S. Ark Royal berth today. The celebrations will culminate on Saturday when the greatest peacetime assembly of warships in Australia is reviewed