Climate Changed

Greenpeace Activists Arrested for Blocking U.S. Oil Waterway

Group protests fossil fuels ahead of Democratic primary debate
Houston Ship Channel handles about 42 tankers a day on average

Greenpeace protesters dangle from the Fred Hartman Bridge, Sept. 12.Photographer: Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle via AP Photo

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By Simon Casey and Barbara J. Powell

September 12, 2019 at 12:15 PM UTC

Updated on

September 12, 2019 at 11:12 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

More than a dozen Greenpeace activists were arrested Thursday after partially shutting the Houston Ship Channel by suspending themselves from a bridge spanning the key oil route in protest against the fossil fuel industry.

The section of the channel between Baytown and Spilmans Island was closed, according to the Coast Guard’s Vessel Traffic Center, which said it couldn’t identify the people involved. In an email and across social media, Greenpeace claimed responsibility, and said it was taking the action ahead of Thursday night’s Democratic presidential primary debate in Houston.