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Greenpeace also had previously confronted the ship while it was delivering equipment for the French government to build an airstrip through a penguin habitat in the Antarctic.
The Arctic Sunrise joined the Greenpeace fleet in 1995 using a company called Arctic Sunrise Ventures Ltd. We knew the ship's Norwegian owners would never willingly sell the boat for it to be used by Greenpeace!
The MV (Motor Vessel) Arctic Sunrise has a chequered past. Ironically, this ship was built in 1975 for commercial seal hunting and then acquired by the French government as a supply vessel, for their Antarctic oil and mineral exploitation.
The ship's first contact with Greenpeace was in 1986, in Hobart, Tasmania, when a volunteer scaled the mast, unfurled the Greenpeace flag and locked himself in the crow's nest.
When Antarctica was named a world park, the French had little use for the ship. So when the ship joined the Greenpeace fleet it was renamed the Arctic Sunrise. Since then it has been making up for past misdeeds!
As an icebreaker, the Arctic Sunrise has a rounded hull and no keel. It is designed to lift out of the ice instead of being crushed by it. So it has spent most of its life sailing the icy polar seas.
In 1997 it became the first ship to circumnavigate James Ross Island in the Antarctic, which previously was an impossible journey until a 200m thick ice shelf connecting the island to the Antarctic continent collapsed. This was just one of the many signs of climate change which the Arctic Sunrise has helped document.
During 2002 the Arctic Sunrise began the year in the Southern Ocean chasing massive whaling ships again. In April, it led the forests campaign in Papua New Guinea, blockading a log ship carrying illegal logs from Concord Pacific, a Malaysian logging company. Three days of action ended when the PNG prime minister announced that the logging operation should never have received a license to operate.
After some prepatory work in the lead-up to the Earth Summit, the ship set sail for Japan to join protests against a deadly nuclear shipment travelling through the Pacific to the UK.
More recently, the ship was back in PNG following up on the logging action. Sadly, not much had changed – the loggers were still at it and the Arctic Sunrise found shiploads of illegal logs bound for export.
'We are peacefully protesting against illegal Japanese whaling in the waters around Antarctica when we hear a mighty crash and the ship rolls heavily. The chief engineer David de Jong rushes to the bridge shouting "That didn't sound like ice"! He's right - it's neither sea ice nor an iceberg, but the Japanese whaling factory ship Nisshin Maru, 10 times the Arctic Sunrise's weight, ramming us. Despite risking the lives of both crews, fortunately no one is hurt. "
Specifications
Port of registry: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Former name: Polarbjorn
Date of joining: 1995
Number of berths: 30
Inflatables: 1 Avon, 1 Zodiac, 2 Novuranias
Helicopter capable: Yes
Type of ship: Seagoing motor yacht
Call sign: PCTK
Built: 1975 by AS Vaagen Verft
Gross tonnage: 949 tonnes
Length O.A: 49.62 m
Breadth: 11.50 m
Maximum draught: 5.80 m
Maximum speed: 13 Knots
Main engine: MAK 9M452AK 2495 IHP 1619kW
Aux engines: 2 x Deutz BF6M716 208hp (175 kva)
Bow and stern thrusters: 400 hp each
The Arctic Sunrise joined the Greenpeace fleet in 1995 using a company called Arctic Sunrise Ventures Ltd. We knew the ship's Norwegian owners would never willingly sell the boat for it to be used by Greenpeace!
The MV (Motor Vessel) Arctic Sunrise has a chequered past. Ironically, this ship was built in 1975 for commercial seal hunting and then acquired by the French government as a supply vessel, for their Antarctic oil and mineral exploitation.
The ship's first contact with Greenpeace was in 1986, in Hobart, Tasmania, when a volunteer scaled the mast, unfurled the Greenpeace flag and locked himself in the crow's nest.
When Antarctica was named a world park, the French had little use for the ship. So when the ship joined the Greenpeace fleet it was renamed the Arctic Sunrise. Since then it has been making up for past misdeeds!
As an icebreaker, the Arctic Sunrise has a rounded hull and no keel. It is designed to lift out of the ice instead of being crushed by it. So it has spent most of its life sailing the icy polar seas.
In 1997 it became the first ship to circumnavigate James Ross Island in the Antarctic, which previously was an impossible journey until a 200m thick ice shelf connecting the island to the Antarctic continent collapsed. This was just one of the many signs of climate change which the Arctic Sunrise has helped document.
Action
Besides its icy mission, the ship has been involved in actions such as:- preventing the dumping of oil installations at sea
- stopping US Star Wars missile tests
- monitoring toxic chemical levels in Latin America
- protesting clear-cutting in Canada’s Great Bear Rainforest
- touring the Eastern Caribbean
- travelling the Brazilian Amazon to assist with the demarcation of traditional Deni lands.
During 2002 the Arctic Sunrise began the year in the Southern Ocean chasing massive whaling ships again. In April, it led the forests campaign in Papua New Guinea, blockading a log ship carrying illegal logs from Concord Pacific, a Malaysian logging company. Three days of action ended when the PNG prime minister announced that the logging operation should never have received a license to operate.
After some prepatory work in the lead-up to the Earth Summit, the ship set sail for Japan to join protests against a deadly nuclear shipment travelling through the Pacific to the UK.
More recently, the ship was back in PNG following up on the logging action. Sadly, not much had changed – the loggers were still at it and the Arctic Sunrise found shiploads of illegal logs bound for export.
Personal account
Captain of the Arctic Sunrise Arne Sorensen during the Southern Ocean expedition in December 1999:'We are peacefully protesting against illegal Japanese whaling in the waters around Antarctica when we hear a mighty crash and the ship rolls heavily. The chief engineer David de Jong rushes to the bridge shouting "That didn't sound like ice"! He's right - it's neither sea ice nor an iceberg, but the Japanese whaling factory ship Nisshin Maru, 10 times the Arctic Sunrise's weight, ramming us. Despite risking the lives of both crews, fortunately no one is hurt. "
Specifications
Port of registry: Amsterdam, Netherlands Former name: Polarbjorn
Date of joining: 1995
Number of berths: 30
Inflatables: 1 Avon, 1 Zodiac, 2 Novuranias
Helicopter capable: Yes
Type of ship: Seagoing motor yacht
Call sign: PCTK
Built: 1975 by AS Vaagen Verft
Gross tonnage: 949 tonnes
Length O.A: 49.62 m
Breadth: 11.50 m
Maximum draught: 5.80 m
Maximum speed: 13 Knots
Main engine: MAK 9M452AK 2495 IHP 1619kW
Aux engines: 2 x Deutz BF6M716 208hp (175 kva)
Bow and stern thrusters: 400 hp each
