Newcastle Harbour Blockade organisers have been forced to move their headquarters from Camp Shortland to Newcastle Foreshore Park.
Participants from across Australia are due to start arriving on Tuesday with the first blockade activities scheduled to commence in the afternoon.
Camp Shortland has been used as a base for blockade activities and campers for the past decade. City of Newcastle approved the use of the section of Camp Shortland under its control for this year's event last week.
However, Transport for NSW, which controls the northern end of Camp Shortland, raised concerns on Monday about the impact of blockade activities on the general public's ability to access the beach and breakwater.
A series of urgent discussions between the council and Rising Tide resulted in a compromise that will see the blockade headquarters relocated across Wharf Road to Foreshore Park.
"We received a threat from Transport for NSW basically saying they were going to charge us with trespass if we touched the car park in Camp Shortland that is apparently under their custodianship," Rising Tide spokesman Zack Schofield said.
"We have moved to council land in foreshore park but it has cost us thousands of dollars. We are not able to set up marques that we paid for and that means the quality of our event is going to be somewhat reduced and that's a real shame."
In addition to previous undertakings, Rising Tide has agreed to limit the number of participants in the park to 5000 and the number of campers to 500.
"It was going to be very difficult for the event to stay within the area (Camp Shortland) because of Transport's ruling," Newcastle Lord Mayor Ross Kerridge said.
"We thought from an operational point of view that having Wharf Road as a boundary was appropriate."
At the same time NSW Maritime, a division of Transport for NSW, has modified its exclusion zone around the port to remove Nobbys and Newcastle beaches. The zone, which will be enforced between 5pm Thursday 21 November and 8am Monday 25 November, now only applies to Newcastle Harbour.
"NSW Maritime will be placing an exclusion zone on Newcastle Harbour to ensure the safety of persons; safety of all vessels and that safe navigation is maintained for all users of this waterway," a spokesman said.
"Safety of all NSW state navigable waters is paramount for NSW Maritime. NSW Maritime will always take measures to ensure safety for persons, vessels and navigation wherever it is practically possible.
"NSW Maritime Officers will also be on the harbour to assist with maintaining safety for persons, vessels, and navigation by being visibly present and giving advice to all users of Newcastle Harbour."
The exclusion zone, initially announced on Saturday, followed an order from the NSW Supreme Court last week deeming the planned floating blockade an unauthorised assembly after police moved to deny organisers a permit.
Hundreds of protesters were expected to take to the water in small craft for 30 hours, preventing access to the coal export terminal.
Mr Schofield said the group had organised the events 12 times with no serious safety incidents and had co-operated with NSW Police.
"On Thursday we met with local police commanders who assured us we would be able to paddle out," he said.
NSW Police said the force "continues to liaise with stakeholders to ensure the safety of users of the Port of Newcastle during an upcoming planned assembly".
