UPDATE: May 18, 2015, 11:38 AM EDT
SEATTLE (AP) — Critics of oil drilling in the Arctic Ocean plan to block the gates to a seaport terminal in Seattle, where Royal Dutch Shell’s massive floating drill rig will be loaded up before heading to the waters off Alaska this summer.
A few hundred protesters marched across a bridge to Terminal 5, temporarily closing the road during Monday morning’s commute. Organizers plan to engage in civil disobedience to stop work on the rig.
Police say arrests are possible, but they expect the demonstration to be peaceful.
Port spokesman Peter McGraw says there are minimal operations at Terminal 5 on Monday “so there’s not much to block.”
The protesters say they’re concerned about the risk of an oil spill and the effects of burning fossil fuels. Officials in Alaska have touted the economic benefits drilling could bring.
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