Police not expecting trouble during visit by ship

The Rainbow Warrior slips past Taiaroa Head to enter the Otago Harbour. Photo by Gerard O'Brien.
The Rainbow Warrior slips past Taiaroa Head to enter the Otago Harbour. Photo by Gerard O'Brien.
Dunedin police have developed a contingency plan ahead of the arrival of Rainbow Warrior today to deal with potential problems like those reported at Port Lyttelton this week.

The Greenpeace flagship attempted to block a bulk carrier loaded with coal for France, in a climate change protest on Tuesday.

Rainbow Warrior anchored in the path of the carrier and three activists boarded the coal ship and attached themselves to its hull.

While 30 officers were involved in controlling the Greenpeace action, a lone Christchurch constable was attacked in a brawl in central Christchurch.

Dunedin emergency response group manager Inspector Alastair Dickie said police had developed a plan to ensure a similar incident could not cause the same problems here.

‘‘We're not expecting any trouble. But then, Christchurch police weren't either. We need to be prepared for every eventuality, so that's what we're trying to do".

Insp Dickie said plenty of staff would be made available to make sure normal police duties could be maintained, and extra on-call staff had been identified.

Port Otago Ltd chief executive Geoff Plunket said that despite the activism in Port Lyttelton, he was comfortable with the presence of Rainbow Warrior in Dunedin.

‘‘We feel the berth [at Birch St Wharf] is appropriate for the planned activities and we anticipate the visit will proceed in the normal way. They have visited before, successfully".

Because of the Lyttelton delays, Dunedin events have been rescheduled.

The 15-member Greenpeace crew hopes to have pupils from Port Chalmers School visit tomorrow, and later host supporters and local MPs for dinner.

On Saturday and Sunday, the ship will be open to the public from 10am to 4pm. On Saturday evening there will be a Green drinks event on board for invited guests who work in environmental sustainability sectors.

The Rainbow Warrior is due to leave Dunedin on Monday evening.

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