Port of Oakland Shut Down by Occupy Wall Street Protestors

The fifth busiest U.S. port, Port of Oakland, was reopened on Thursday after evening operations on Wednesday were halted due to demonstrations by Occupy Wall Street (OWS) protestors.

Oakland police estimated that about 3,000 OWS protestors had congregated at the Port of Oakland early on Wednesday evening.  Many of the protestors marched to the port from downtown Oakland, spurring the Port to send staff home early ahead of the march, as to avoid any violence while the protestors lined the entrance of the port.

The Occupy Oakland protestors chose the port as a means to halt the flow of capital.  And that they did, as the Oakland port is one of the busiest in the United States, primarily sending goods to Asia, such as electronics, wine, fruits, rice, apparel, as well as vehicles from Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and Hyundai.  Spokesman for the Port of Oakland confirmed that maritime operations had effectively and completely been shut down due to the OWS movement at their gated, as well as blocking any trucks from entering.

Oakland police stressed to the OWS protestors that passing the gates of the port would be committing a federal crime, even during total dockside shutdown.

While the large demonstration was mainly peaceful, a small faction of protestors turned violent overnight, breaking windows, committing vandalism, and setting fires around the streets.  
Maritime operations at the port were reopened Thursday when officials believed it was safe and secure to do so. 

A Port of Oakland spokesperson was quoted by Aljazeera saying that the port in Oakland is one of the most valuable places of money flow in America, and that these occupations actually do have the capability to disrupt the flow of capital and money that the 1% is using. 

The “Occupy” movement has been spreading across the globe rapidly.  How these demonstrations could potentially affect the maritime industry if protests are organized at more ports is something the shipping community should be aware of. 

Only time will tell whether or not the Occupy movement will continue to gain momentum, causing worldwide change, or if it will simply fizzle out.  So far, it looks like the protestors are in it for the long haul.