Timeline of Events

July 7, 1985

The Rainbow Warrior arrives in Auckland after successfully completing its mission to relocate the people of Rongelap. The United States government had just detonated the largest nuclear bomb since Hiroshima, and radiation poisoning impacted 95 percent of the villagers.

July 10, 1985

Spirits are high on the Rainbow Warrior.  The crew is finalizing their plans to sail to Moruroa to oppose French plans for a series of underground nuclear tests.  It is also Steve Sawyer's birthday and Margaret Mills has baked a cake, boasting a jelly bean rainbow, for the occasion.

9:30 p.m. Mike Harris - a taxi driver in Auckland - enjoys a drink with friends at the Outboard Boating Club.  They notice a small inflatable Zodiac pulled up on a wooden ramp leading up to the roadside.  The driver of the Zodiac climbs out and jogs down Tamaki Drive, returning moments later in a white camper van. Helped by another man, the Zodiac driver offloaded a large bundle from the boat and into the back of the van.   Their suspicions aroused, Mike and his friends telephone the police. They've managed to jot down the vehicle details as it speeds away - a white Toyota Hiace, registration plate LB 8945.

11:00 p.m. An onboard meeting regarding the Muroroa mission breaks up.  Accompanied by some of the crew, the Warrior's visitors leave. Some of those still onboard wish their friends "goodnight" and go below to their cabins. On a whim that may have saved her life, Hanne Sorensen goes back above deck to take a brisk walk in the night air.  

11:49 p.m. Seven crewmembers, including photographer Fernando Pereira, chat around the mess-room table, sharing between them the last two bottles of beer. They check the clock, wondering if the bars are still open.

11:50 p.m. An explosion.  Those in the mess-room are plunged into darkness.  Others are stirred from sleep by a dull, muffled thud, as though something heavy had been dropped on the deck above. Fernando Pereira rushes below deck with Martini Gotje and Andy Biedermann to check if anyone has been left behind. Martini goes to the cabin he shares with Hanne, and finds it empty. Andy rouses Margaret Mills who is still asleep. Andy and Margaret make it off the ship first.  Martini follows as Fernando is "right behind him."

11:52 p.m. A second explosion. A flash of blue light streaked through the cloudy waters around the ship. Those already on deck scrambled up the ladder or leaped to safety on the wharf. In a matter of minutes they watched as the twin steel masts of the ship tilted toward them. Fernando Pereira is missing.

July 11, 1985

3:00 a.m. One of the team of New Zealand navy divers called to inspect the Warrior wreckage, surfaces with the body of Fernando Pereira in his arms. He was found lying face down on the floor of the cabin next to his own. Exactly what had happened to him is still unclear.

Later that day The French government asserts "in no way was France involved."

July 12, 1985

Becky Hayter reports to work at the airport branch of Newman's, a car rental agency,  shortly before 8:30 a.m. Standing at the counter is Alain and Sophie Turenge - the "Swiss" couple to whom she has leased a white Toyota Hiace. They have decided to go home early and want to return their van. Alain estimates that he is entitled to a refund of NZ$130.

However, Becky and the other Newman's staff have already been alerted that the drivers of this particular van are wanted for questioning. While one keeps the Swiss couple talking, another calls the police. Twenty minutes later Detective David McSweeney walks into the office and the Turenges are invited to accompany him back to the police station for questioning.  They are later identified as Captain Dominique Prieur and Major Alain Mafart, high-ranking agents of the DGSE, the French Secret Services.

July - November

At Auckland's Central Police Station, Detective Inspector Allan Galbraith, oversees the investigation of a big, long and complicated case. At its height, his team consists of over 100 agents that conduct 6,000 interviews.  Evidence mounts against the French.

September 21, 1985

Finally, France admits its responsibility for sinking the Rainbow Warrior.  The United Nations is called in to mediate a settlement between France and New Zealand. Eventually the French government is forced into an unconvincing apology and ordered to pay NZ$13 million to the New Zealand government. Later still, Greenpeace receives US$8 million from France. This enables us to build the replacement for the Rainbow Warrior, the current Rainbow Warrior II.

November 4, 1985

The trial of Captain Prieur and Major Mafart begins…and ends. The pair enters guilty pleas, thus avoiding a lengthy trial and the possibility of more revelations to rock the French establishment. They are sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for manslaughter, and seven years for arson, to run concurrently.

In the months that follow, France exerts serious economic pressure on New Zealand over dairy exports and a deal is struck that allows Prieur and Mafart to serve their time in a French military prison. They serve a little over two years of their sentences before being freed and returning to Paris, where they are honored with military medals and resume their careers.

July 10, 2005

Twenty years later, no proper public inquiry into the bombing and the murder of Fernando Pereira has been held in France. New Zealand's police have been denied the opportunity to interview most of the DGSE agents responsible. The guilty have not been punished and justice has not been served.