Pro-Palestine protesters in kayaks attempted to block what they believed to be an Israel-linked container ship at a port in Melbourne.

Footage of the incident shows the group of five activists paddling out in front of the Vela, a Liberian-flagged cargo ship.

The enormous vessel was filmed nudging the activists out of the way during their highly dangerous stunt.

The protesters said they had forced the port to temporarily close.

Australian activists have repeatedly targeted cargo ships which they say are owned by ZIM, an Israeli shipping firm, at the port of Melbourne in recent weeks.

While the activists claimed the ship they targeted was “Israel-linked”, it was not immediately clear if the vessel actually did belong to the company, or whether they had mistakenly singled out another cargo ship.