Pages above:
History of the Arctic Sunrise
A little more than a decade earlier, in 1986, Greenpeace first encountered the ship as an adversary when it confronted the vessel, known then as the Polar Bjorn, as it was delivering equipment to build an airstrip through a penguin habitat in the Antarctic so that the French government could exploit the oil and mineral reserves. In Tasmania, a Greenpeace activist scaled the mast, unfurled the Greenpeace flag and locked himself in the crow’s nest. It was a sign of things to come for the ship.
Eventually the entire continent of Antarctica was declared a world park, and a ban was imposed on oil and mineral exploitation. The French government no longer had any use for the Arctic Sunrise, but Greenpeace did.
The Arctic Sunrise’s life with Greenpeace began with the campaign to stop the dumping of oil installations at sea. Launched from the Arctic Sunrise, Greenpeace activists occupied the Brent Spar oil storage facility in the North Sea to prevent the 14,500 tonnes installation from being scuttled. The action, part of an ongoing campaign to stop ocean dumping, pitted Greenpeace against the combined forces of the UK government and the world's then-largest oil company.
Since this inaugural action, the Arctic Sunrise has fought many campaigns. It has investigated pollution from oil rigs in the North Sea, chased pirate vessels fishing illegally in the Indian Ocean, confronted polluters in the Mediterranean, and in the Pacific, maneuvered directly into the path of a Minuteman missile being tested as part of the US “Star Wars” defense system.
In the Southern Ocean, just last fall, the Arctic Sunrise was deliberately rammed and damaged by the Nisshin Maru, the factory ship of the Japanese whaling fleet, which is more than twice as long as and six times heavier than the Greenpeace vessel. The impact left the Sunrise battered and bruised but luckily no crew members were injured.
As befits her name, the Arctic Sunrise has spent much of its time in the polar regions. She has made repeated voyages to the Arctic Beaufort Sea to oppose seismic testing for new offshore oil reserves, and documented climate change both in Alaska and Greenland.
In 1997, the Arctic Sunrise became the first ship to circumnavigate James Ross Island in the Antarctic. This was an impossible journey until a 200m thick ice shelf connecting the island to the Antarctic continent collapsed, another sign of climate change which the Arctic Sunrise helped document.
The last time the Arctic Sunrise campaigned in Canada was in 2005 when it came to oppose the production of nuclear power. Activists from the Arctic Sunrise, accompanied by local supporters in a flotilla of small boats, hung banners and dumped fake barrels of radioactive waste at Quebec’s only nuclear plant, Gentilly-2.
Eventually the entire continent of Antarctica was declared a world park, and a ban was imposed on oil and mineral exploitation. The French government no longer had any use for the Arctic Sunrise, but Greenpeace did.
The Arctic Sunrise’s life with Greenpeace began with the campaign to stop the dumping of oil installations at sea. Launched from the Arctic Sunrise, Greenpeace activists occupied the Brent Spar oil storage facility in the North Sea to prevent the 14,500 tonnes installation from being scuttled. The action, part of an ongoing campaign to stop ocean dumping, pitted Greenpeace against the combined forces of the UK government and the world's then-largest oil company.
Since this inaugural action, the Arctic Sunrise has fought many campaigns. It has investigated pollution from oil rigs in the North Sea, chased pirate vessels fishing illegally in the Indian Ocean, confronted polluters in the Mediterranean, and in the Pacific, maneuvered directly into the path of a Minuteman missile being tested as part of the US “Star Wars” defense system.
In the Southern Ocean, just last fall, the Arctic Sunrise was deliberately rammed and damaged by the Nisshin Maru, the factory ship of the Japanese whaling fleet, which is more than twice as long as and six times heavier than the Greenpeace vessel. The impact left the Sunrise battered and bruised but luckily no crew members were injured.
As befits her name, the Arctic Sunrise has spent much of its time in the polar regions. She has made repeated voyages to the Arctic Beaufort Sea to oppose seismic testing for new offshore oil reserves, and documented climate change both in Alaska and Greenland.
In 1997, the Arctic Sunrise became the first ship to circumnavigate James Ross Island in the Antarctic. This was an impossible journey until a 200m thick ice shelf connecting the island to the Antarctic continent collapsed, another sign of climate change which the Arctic Sunrise helped document.
The last time the Arctic Sunrise campaigned in Canada was in 2005 when it came to oppose the production of nuclear power. Activists from the Arctic Sunrise, accompanied by local supporters in a flotilla of small boats, hung banners and dumped fake barrels of radioactive waste at Quebec’s only nuclear plant, Gentilly-2.
