Greenwich: Planned stunt Walk of the Emirates Airlines Cable Car Wire Called Off

by WO Staff | Greenwich

Greenpeace Message targeted at Shell employees at their Canary Wharf office across the river.

A publicity stunt that would have seen Greenpeace walk the ropes of the Emirates Cable Car from North Greenwich to the Royal Docks, a distance of 1.1kms, have been abandoned for safety reasons.

Jon Partington @Peaman72 had tweeted "Greenpeace publicity stunt in full flow @Greenwich Emirates Cable Car...." as the men steadied themselves on top of the giant boulders for the walk.

But things changed quickly after it was discovered that the ropes are too wobbly and unsafe to walk on. Besides, at that height, a fall will be predictably fatal.

The protesters attempting the high-wire walk, brought the Emirates Air Line to a standstill this morning, according to eyewitness accounts.

But TfL, which runs the Cable Car, called the Greenpeace stunt men "trespassers" and said there was no service at the airline due to their presence.

Greenpeace had climbed the south terminal in Greenwich, with the intention of crossing the river to the Royal Docks. They arrived very early in the morning. But police were reportedly called to the scene. They arrived and were seen "liaising with the group".

Arctic campaigner Ian Duff said: “We were planning to do a record breaking high-wire walk over the Thames to protest Shell’s Arctic drilling plans. It was designed as a message to the 1600 Shell staff in their Canary Wharf offices just across the water.”

“Unfortunately once we were up there, we discovered the wire was just too wobbly to use. We made the call that it was too great a risk, and decided to come down."

“Unfortunately, Shell hasn’t yet made that call in the Arctic, despite the immediate dangers drilling poses for the people and wildlife that live there and the effect climate impacts are having on people around the world.”

Danny Price, head of Emirates Air Line, apologized to customers whose journeys were disrupted by the unplanned closure.

He said: “Our security systems alerted us to trespassers on the Emirates Air Line this morning. The cable car was not running at the time and there is no risk to customers or staff. We are working with the police to deal safely with the situation and services are expected to resume later this morning.”

The distance from the North Station to
the South Station is 1.1km. (Credit: TfL).