22 Greenpeace activists have been arrested after they closed down the Houston Ship Channel on September 12, 2019.
The activists stopped ships passing through the channel for 14 hours after they formed a blockade on the Fred Hartman Bridge in Baytown, Texas, at approximately 6:30 am.
The US Coast Guard (USCG) confirmed the closure of the channel – the largest oil transportation waterway in the US – and that it launched a Station Houston 20-Foot Response Boat-Small to the scene.
Greenpeace’s protest coincided with the Democratic Primary debate and was designed to raise awareness of the impact of fossil fuels.
It was also meant to drum up support for a so-called ‘Green New Deal’, a proposed legislation that aims to fundamentally reform the economy, cut emissions and fight poverty.
Texas, according to Greenpeace, has made the US the world’s largest oil producer and production from the state has almost quadrupled since 2010.
Nearly 700,000 barrels of oil a day are transported through the Houston Shipping Channel and the area is home to a number of major corporations.
