Rainbow Warrior blocking the tanker MT Westama, which is loading over 30,000 tonnes of palm oil.
The tanker is a large one, loading 33,000 tonnes of palm oil.
The Rainbow Warrior has two anchors out from its bow. One is
actually under our ship and our crew has rigged ropes from the back
of the Warrior to the anchor's chain. This keeps the Rainbow
Warrior from being swung around by current or wind - so it stays in
good position.
16 November
- Blockadecontinues. And this morning eight activists climbed on
the palm oiltanks nearby with a banner saying "Palm Oil Kills
Climate &Forests". They've been taken into custodysince.
Reada first hand update from captiain Mike on the
RainbowWarrior.
 Enlargeimage |
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17November - The blockade ends. After 3 days of
tensebut peaceful stand-off, the Rainbow Warrior has been forced
off herpostition where she has been actively blocking the huge palm
oiltanker. After being warned that trying to move the tanker would
beunsafe, the captain of the tanker said that his ship was now
under thecontrol of Dumai Port Authoritypilots.
Update from Sue (on board). |
What's wrong with this stuff
This particular cargo of palm oil is headed for India, but
countries all over the world import the stuff. The harbour here
has huge holding tanks full of it from plantations on what was once
rainforest land.
The exporting company is Permata Hijau Sawit. They source oil
from companies known to be involved in forest destruction and
forest fires on peat land in Riau province, Indonesia.
The expansion of palm oil plantations into forest and peatland
areas poses a serious threat to the global climate and Indonesia's
remaining forests. Expansion plans in Riau province alone have the
potential of triggering a 'climate time bomb'. Riau's peatland
forests store a massive 14.6 billion tonnes of carbon - equivalent
to one year's global greenhouse gas emissions.
Among other things, palm oil is used in cosmetics and to make
snack foods like Pringles and KitKats. It's also used for
biofuels.
Taking action in the port and in the forest
"The crew and captain did an amazing job getting us into
position - calm, smooth and controlled," said Sue Connor,
Greenpeace International forests campaigner on board the Rainbow
Warrior. "The logging, draining and burning of Indonesia's peatland
forests releases a massive amount of stored carbon back to the
atmosphere. This contributes to Indonesia being the third largest
emitter of greenhouse gases on the planet. That's why we're
here."
We're also taking direct action in the forest. The peat soils
of Riau have the highest concentration of carbon stored per hectare
of anywhere in the world. But as the forests are cleared, drained
and burned this carbon is released.
Our solution - stop the draining. With the help of locals,
activists at our Forest Defenders Camp have been
damming up the drainage canals. This will prevent the peatland
from drying out and releasing carbon dioxide, the leading
greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere.
In less than three weeks time, Indonesia is also going to host a
meeting in Bali where governments will decide their next steps on
climate change. Commitment to zero deforestation is one of the
things that needs to come out of that meeting.
Let's hope they get the message.
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