Shell icebreaker in Portland turns back, avoiding showdown with protesters dangling from bridge.
Shortly after a Shell icebreaker attempted to leave Portland and appeared headed toward a Thursday morning showdown with protesters dangling from the St. Johns Bridge, the vessel turned around.
Just after 7:30 a.m., the MSV Fennica and turned back, about a quarter mile from the bridge over the Willamette River. From a boardwalk below, supporters of the activists, cheered.
Greenpeace activists suspended themselves from ropes Wednesday to try to stop the icebreaker from heading north to the Chukchi Sea. On Thursday morning, it appeared that the daring protest was having at least some temporary results.