Greenpeace protesters on board a lumber ship have said they are ready to continue their sit-in.

The protesters, who jumped on board the MV Enif as it passed Southend pier, spent a second night of occupation on the ship which they claim is carrying an illegal cargo of wood from the Amazon rainforest.

The Greenpeace volunteers boarded the 12,000-ton vessel, owned by Malaysian timber importer WTK, to stage a "non-violent direct action".

The ship had been expected to unload around 1,700 tons of plywood, but the six protesters attached themselves to the ship's cranes to prevent the wood being unloaded.

Last night (Wednesday) one of the protesters, Richard Watson, speaking from his position on board the ship, said: "We are going to stick it out as long as we possibly can."

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.