A Coast Guard crew ordered a historic sloop belonging to an environmental group to divert from the Fourth of July parade of tall ships in and around New York Harbor because it had banners on its sails related to its mission.

The small Coast Guard gunboat approached the Clearwater, a decades-old replica of 18th- and 19th-century sloops, as the masted ship took part in Saturday’s Sail4th 250 Parade of Sail, part of the celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary.

Video shared with MS NOW by Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, the nonprofit that maintains the ship, shows a Coast Guard member ordering the sloop’s crew to turn around as the smaller boat and a second one circled it. Passengers and crew on the ship’s deck tried to tell the Coast Guard they were part of the parade, as historic three-masted ships and Navy vessels sailed in the distance.

“They got on their loudspeaker and said, ‘Turn your vessel around right now. You’re not authorized to be in this security zone,’” and threatened fines and arrests, said the Clearwater’s captain, Rory Kane.

The sloop had banners on its mast reading “Save the Clean Water Act” and “Indigenous Rights, Racial Justice, Climate Solutions.”

The organization was founded in the 1960s by folk singer and activist Pete Seeger to clean up what was then one of the nation’s most polluted waterways. Its mission is “to protect the Hudson River … through education, advocacy, sailing, and music,” according to the group’s site.

The group said the Clearwater had been assigned to escort a Portuguese tall ship through New York Harbor.

Sail4th America 250, the entity behind the maritime parade, said operators of every vessel signed an agreement saying they would not post banners.

“The agreement that all ship captains and owners signed to participate in the July 4th Parade of Sail prohibited the flying of any flags or signs whatsoever without Sail4th prior review,” said Bill Armstrong, a Sail4th America 250 spokesperson.

Members of the climate group told MS NOW that they interpreted that as promotional or advertisement banners.

The Coast Guard said the group was given a choice to remove the banners and stay in the parade.

“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 told MS NOW. “They declined to remove it, so the Coast Guard enforced the agreement on behalf of Sail4th by removing the vessel from the parade.”

Hudson River Sloop Clearwater disputed that, saying its crew was never offered the opportunity to remove the banners before being ordered from the parade.

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