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Police called to sort out situation with anti drilling protesters

Nine anti-drilling protesters from Kaikoura have been sighted on paddle boards near the "Duke" off Aotea Quay in the afternoon of Feb 13, 2014. The police launch "Lady Elizabeth IV" was dispatched to the scene to clear the area. The "Duke" was scheduled to sail out of Wellington Harbour by 4 p.m. The Interislander ferry "Arahura"'s berthing at the ferry terminal has been delayed while Wellington Wharf police sorted the situation out. The protest was part of ongoing resistance the stop-deep-sea-drilling community have planned in protest against oil exploration in the Pegasus Basin, where the "Duke" has been firing seismic blasts into the seabed 35 nautical miles off the coast of Kaikoura. The "Duke" has been in port in Wellington and had planned to return to the Pegasus Basin in the afternoon.

Protesters swam to survey ship

Anti-oil drilling protesters swam through Wellington Harbour on Jan 23, 2014, morning to place a banner on the "Duke". Members of Oil Free Wellington attached a flag reading ''Oil Free Seas'' to the side of the survey ship about 10.30 a.m. The ship has been commissioned to do exploratory deep sea drilling in the Pegasus Basin, Canterbury Basin and Taranaki Basin for Texas oil company Anadarko. It had arrived in Wellington on Jan 22 to do final planning, preparation and health and safety checks before heading to the Pegasus Basin where it will run 4500km lines of tests until the end of February. The two protesters were in the water for about an hour. Anadarko was unconcerned by the protest respecting the right that people have to protest. There would be concerns if protests were not carried out safely. Once surveying was complete it would be some months before the data was analysed and any decisions on drilling made. Report with photo: http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/wellington/9642430/Oil-protest-targets-survey-ship