Police on Sunday were reporting 141 people arrested at this year’s coal port blockade protest in Newcastle.
Officers said the figure was accurate as of 5.30pm Sunday with a high-visibility police operation continuing on Newcastle Harbour, the focus of the annual Rising Tide anti-coal power blockade.
Eighteen of those arrested were juveniles to be dealt with under the Young Offender’s Act, police said.
Meanwhile, 121 adults had been charged with various offences under the Crimes and Marine Safety Acts.
Protesters for the Rising Tide event on social media claimed victory, saying they had managed to stop at least one ship.
‘More than 100 heroes breached the exclusion zone and occupied the shipping channel, forcing Ragnar the coal ship to make a sheepish about turn,’ Rising Tide posted.
The post described kayaks crossing the police line, with thousands of people on the beach shouting ‘the people united shall never be defeated’.
Two women arrested protesting onboard
Officers arrested two women aboard a ship off the Newcastle coastline.
Police said they were notified around 9.20am Sunday of a alleged protest aboard a ship off the Newcastle coastline.
Marine Area Command, the Rescue and Bomb Disposal Unit, and PolAir responded to the ship and arrested two women, the police statement read.
Inquiries into the incident were ongoing.
Coastal police chase ends in jet ski crash
Less than an hour later, around 10.10am, police tried to stop a boat after it allegedly entered an exclusion zone.
Officers reportedly pursued the boat on a jet ski east along Newcastle Harbour when the boat failed to stop as directed.
The boat is said to have then crashed into a police jet ski leading to the arrest of its sole-occupant, a 26-year-old woman.
She was charged with contravening a notice prohibiting and/or regulating the use of vessels, operating a recreational etc vessel negligently no death, and hindering or resisting a police officer in the execution of duty.
She received conditional bail and was due to appear before Newcastle Local Court on 13 January 2026.
Police report brawl, arrest 18-year-old
Meanwhile, several people were said to have been involved in an incident at a Foreshore Park event related to alleged assaults.
A 46-year-old man man sustained lacerations to his back, arms, legs, and head, police said, and was taken to the Calvary Mater Hospital in a stable condition.
A 17-year-old boy who, police were told, had tried to intervene in the incident was also treated for minor lacerations.
An 18-year-old man was later arrested in a nearby campsite area and was charged with two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm (DV), and wounding a person with intent to cause grievous bodily harm (DV).
He was refused bail to appear before Bail Division Court 2 today.
It was unclear how the incident related to the port blockade.
‘Unsafe practices on the water,’ say police
Police said they witnessed ‘several unsafe practices on the water’ during the protest, ‘despite requests that attendees refrain from entering the harbour with the intention to obstruct users of the port’.
‘The NSW Police Force recognises and supports the rights of individuals and groups to exercise their rights of free speech and peaceful assembly;’ police wrote in their report, ‘however, the priority for NSW Police is always the safety of the wider community and there will be zero tolerance for illegal and dangerous behaviour’.
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