Houston oil artery reopens after police remove final Greenpeace protesters

The Houston Ship Channel on Friday reopened for vessel traffic, the U.S. Coast Guard said, after the last of 11 protesters who had disrupted traffic by dangled on ropes above the key energy-export waterwater was removed by police earlier in the morning.

A large portion of the channel was closed when Greenpeace protesters attached themselves and banners to a bridge over the waterway to bring attention to climate change during Thursday's presidential candidates debate in Houston.

Police arrested 23 Greenpeace members involved in the protest, with the last removed about 1 a.m. local time by Harris County Sheriff's Office officers, said Travis Nichols, a Greenpeace spokesman. A spokesman for the sheriff's office did not reply to requests for comment.

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