Protestors Delay Seven Seas Mariner Arrival in Amsterdam

Seven Seas Mariner

A group of protesters delayed the arrival of the Seven Seas Mariner at the port of Amsterdam on Sunday.

According to local sources, the Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ vessel was initially unable to enter the locks of IJmuiden, a port city in the Dutch region of Velsen.

Climate activists from Extinction Rebellion blocked the facility to try to prevent the ship from reaching Amsterdam.

A group of eight protesters chained and glued themselves to the gates of one of the locks, preventing it from opening, Echt Amsterdam Nieuws reported.

After police intervention, the the protesters were broken up and the ship was able to continue on its way to Amsterdam, the local newspaper said.

“The right to demonstrate is a great asset in the Netherlands,” Jeroen Verwoort, Deputy Mayor of Velsen, said.

“By blocking the locks again, shipping traffic cannot pass. Because the demonstrators did not want to leave on their own, I decided to have the police end the demonstration,” he added.

Previously, on Saturday morning, the same climate activists blocked the locks to prevent the Jewel of the Seas from docking in Amsterdam.

The Royal Caribbean International vessel was forced to dock in IJmuiden, moving its homeport operations to the local cruise terminal.

According to the Amsterdam Port Authority, the Seven Seas Mariner was able to enter the locks at around 8:30 PM. As a result, the ship arrived in Amsterdam nearly three hours later than originally scheduled.

On its website, Extinction Rebellion said that the protest was aimed at “serious pollution caused by cruise shipping.”

The Seven Seas Mariner was offering a 20-night cruise to Northern Europe and Scandinavia that ended in Amsterdam on Monday.

After departing from Copenhagen on July 23, the open-jaw itinerary featured visits to destinations in Denmark, Norway, Shetland Isles, Scotland and the Netherlands.

On Monday, the 720-guest vessel departed Amsterdam for a repositioning to the Mediterranean that is set to end in Barcelona on Aug. 24.

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