Protesters in Oakland, California flocked to the Port of Oakland on Friday and blocked the departure of a military supply ship believed bound for the Middle East for several hours.
About 200 activists were reported to have descended on the port Friday morning, entering the berth where the Cape Orlando container carrier was moored, with some blocking the entrance to the berth, while others latched themselves onto the vessel’s rope ladders to prevent the ship’s safe departure.
The protesters, organized by the Arab Resource Organizing Center, a San Francisco-headquartered civic and social nonprofit, said they had information that the Cape Orlando would head to the Middle East after being loaded up with weapons and military equipment in Tacoma, Washington State.
Some protestors unfurled Palestinian flags or wore “Free Palestine” tee-shirts, with others unfurled a large sign reading “NO US Military Aid to Israel.” Others carried smaller signs, with one reading “Liberation for Palestinians: No More US $$$ to Israeli Military.” The crowd chanted “Hey, hey, ho ho, the occupation has to go” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be Free.” Protesters reportedly included demonstrators who have lost family members in Gaza amid the recent escalation of violence, as well as Jewish Americans opposed to the conflict and Washington’s support for Israel.
Organizers said some of the workers aboard the vessel had expressed second doubts about their mission, with at least one reported to have expressed solidarity by walking off the job.
The vessel did ultimately apparently get underway, with three protesters still on board later transferred to another vessel and returned to shore pending a Coast Guard investigation. MarineTraffic shows the ship heading north up the West Coast toward Oregon and Washington State, about 380 km northwest of Oakland.
Police did not report making any arrests, and a Port of Oakland spokesperson said that the protest did not disrupt any other port operations.
Protesters in Oakland expressed hope that when the ship gets to Tacoma –its presumed destination, port workers there will refuse to load military cargoes, and the public will show up to protest.
The Cape Orlando is a roll-on/roll-off style supply ship belonging to the US Ready Reserve Fleet, and has been used extensively to transfer troops and equipment to and from Afghanistan and Iraq during the 2000s.
Government officials did not confirm or deny to media that the ship was bound for the Middle East, with a union representative saying the ship hasn’t been in active service for 17 years. However, a Coast Guard spokesperson confirmed that the ship belongs to the Department of Defense Maritime Administration, an agency responsible for shipping US military supplies worldwide.
Friday’s incident apparently isn’t the first of its kind in Oakland, with a similar, AROC-organized protest held in 2021, culminating in workers from the local chapter of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union refusing to cross a protest line to unload an Israeli vessel’s cargo. The same group organized demonstrations during the August 2014 Palestine-Israel flare-up, delaying Israeli-owned ships from unloading their cargoes, and prompting at least one Israeli vessel to bypass the city entirely to unload in another location.