Ships take part in the Sail 250 parade in New York Harbor as the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary on Independence Day in New York City, U.S., July 4, 2026. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab
Item 1 of 2 Ships take part in the Sail 250 parade in New York Harbor as the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary on Independence Day in New York City, U.S., July 4, 2026. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
NEW YORK, July 4 (Reuters) - The U.S. Coast Guard said "politically charged" messages led to the removal of an environmental group's vessel from a fleet of sailing ships gathered in New York on Saturday to celebrate the country's 250th anniversary.
A ship owned by the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater environmental organization was forced out of the Sail4th 250 parade in New York Harbor, the Coast Guard said in a statement emailed to Reuters.
The ship had banners that read, "Save the Clean Water Act" and "Indigenous Rights, Racial Justice, Climate Solutions".
Participants in the event had agreed to refrain from displaying political or politically charged messages or statements, according to the Coast Guard, which said it enforced the agreement on behalf of Sail4th.
"The owner of the sloop Clearwater was contacted and requested to remove the message being displayed or be removed from the parade of sail," the Coast Guard said. "They declined to remove it."
Jen Benson, director of advocacy and communications at Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, disputed the claim. She said the Coast Guard did not ask for the messages to be taken down, but requested the ship leave the sailing route or risk arrest.
"We don't feel like advocating for clean water is a politically charged message," Benson said. "People on all sides of the aisle, and no sides at all, have been fighting in the United States for clean water in different ways."
Sail4th 250 was one of the events organized by Freedom 250, a group created by the Trump administration to plan celebrations for the country's 250th anniversary. More than 40 tall ships from 20 foreign countries participated, traveling through New York Harbor from near Sandy Hook, New Jersey, up to the George Washington Bridge.
Hudson River Sloop Clearwater's website says the group's mission is to "protect the Hudson River by stewarding an intergenerational community of river advocates through education, advocacy, sailing, and music."
Reporting by Nicole Jao in New York; Editing by Sergio Non and Jamie Freed
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab
outsidenewyork on July 5th, 2026 at 11:20 UTC »
Thank you Clearwater for being the voice for of the Hudson River. How ironic is it that the Hudson River was a dumping ground for 300+ years UNTIL the Clean Water Act was passed in 1972 and now we are moving BACKWARDS towards polluting it again.
moreobviousthings on July 5th, 2026 at 11:20 UTC »
The vessel is “Clearwater” which used to be run by Pete Seeger and was used to focus on environment issues.
furrysalesman69 on July 5th, 2026 at 05:02 UTC »
In case you were wondering what they were at a glance.