Greenpeace Flotilla Harries Oil Tanker in Long Beach Harbor

A flotilla of Greenpeace demonstrators harried an oil tanker off Long Beach on Wednesday to protest global weather changes that might be linked to the nation’s dependence on fossil fuels.

Five inflatable boats carrying members of the environmental organization intercepted the 890-foot Pecos shortly before 11 a.m. as it headed into the Port of Long Beach, where the ship was scheduled to deliver crude oil from Argentina.

Sign-waving protesters followed the huge ship until it anchored within the harbor breakwater. For more than three hours, they played cat and mouse with a group of U.S. Coast Guard vessels, including an 87-foot cutter.

Greenpeace USA was thwarted, however, in its effort to board the tanker because of a broken ladder and the Coast Guard, which established a perimeter around the tanker as it slowly moved into the port’s busy shipping channels.

But Greenpeace members declared the demonstration a success.

“Whether we boarded or not is not important,” said Melanie Duchin, who helped coordinate the protest Wednesday. “I think we have made our point: The country’s addiction to oil and fossil fuels is costly to Americans’ pocketbooks and their environment.”

Scientists suspect that the world’s increasing reliance on fossil fuels is affecting the Earth’s atmosphere, a phenomenon known as global warming. Some believe that the condition is contributing to dramatic climatic changes, including droughts, floods and severe storms.

Greenpeace members said they targeted the Pecos because it was carrying crude oil bound for automobile-dependent Los Angeles.

The ship--loaded with about a million barrels of oil--is owned by Pecos Shipping, which is operated by OMI Marine, based in Stamford, Conn. It is scheduled to deliver the oil to the Arco terminal owned by BP, formerly British Petroleum.

“We’re just concerned about safety and the safety of the crew,” said Paul Langland, BP’s director of public affairs. “And we’re concerned about the safety of anyone who is trying to climb up the sides of ships.”

Langland said the company, which markets Arco gasoline on the West Coast, has been increasingly sensitive to environmental issues and has been emphasizing its clean fuels program and the introduction of smog-reducing gasoline to 40 cities around the world.

Shortly after 11:30 a.m., five Coast Guard vessels, including inflatable boats and two 41-foot craft, arrived at the Pecos and kept the flotilla away from the vessel.

The protesters repeatedly sped by the Pecos, carrying signs that stated “Oil Fuels Climate Chaos” and “Oil Fuels Polar Meltdown.”

Fred London, OMI’s general counsel, said that the ship’s crew was safe and that Greenpeace had not specifically targeted the shipping line. He said he could not recall any previous Greenpeace actions against the company.

BP’s Langland said oil companies had been warned Tuesday about a possible Greenpeace action. A number of shippers and oil companies--including BP, Tosco and Texaco--then met with the Coast Guard to discuss the situation.

Wednesday’s protest is the second that Greenpeace has held in the harbor in recent years. In October 1998, the group successfully boarded a 570-foot freighter carrying newsprint purportedly made from trees felled in British Columbia. Protesters chained themselves to the superstructure and, three days later, 13 activists were arrested.

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Times staff writer Joe Mathews contributed to this story.