Greenpeace's flagship Rainbow Warrior has been forced by bad weather to stop its blockade of the UK's largest military port.

The blockade of Hampshire's Marchwood military port was abandoned in the early hours of Tuesday.

During the night, heavy winds and bad weather caused the campaign ship to slip its anchor and ground itself in the harbour waters, according to a Navy spokesman.

A Greenpeace spokeswoman said a decision on whether to continue the blockade would be made on safety grounds by the captain of the Rainbow Warrior.

Activists tied themselves to the ships in protest

Activists had originally vowed to carry on their blockade for up to a month in an attempt to stop a war with Iraq.

The spokeswoman said: "Really heavy weather overnight caused us to slip the anchor and we had to battle to stop it grounding.

"We had to move to safe anchoring in the Solent and we are attempting to fix the anchor.

"The intention is to continue the blockade in some form, but exactly how we do this isn't clear at the moment and will be up to the captain."

Loading continues

A Royal Navy spokesman said yesterday's protest, which included three Greenpeace members attaching themselves to the merchant ship Magdelana Green, had delayed the loading process by eight hours.

He added: "The loading is continuing and the ship will leave when it's finished later today."

Three Greenpeace protesters were arrested on Monday by police but released without charge.