2018 has been an iconic year for Greenpeace’s ships. The Rainbow Warrior, Esperanza, and Arctic Sunrise has sailed from all corners of the world – from Antarctica to Hawaii, Taiwan to New Zealand, from the dense forest of Papua to the pristine biodiverse Great Southern Reef in Australia.

Our ships have been the flag bearer literally across the globe and have been part of some amazing documentation to really challenging actions.

 Check out the 10 best images of 2018 from our ships:

Gentoo Penguins on Danco Island. © Esther Horvath

Gentoo penguins are pictured on Dance Island in Errera Channel, creating a complex maze of penguin highways to get down from the mountains to the sea and back to their nests through the melting snow.

Plastic Found in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. © Justin Hofman

A 1 liter mason jar holds the plastic debris collected over approximately 3 hours from surface trawls, conceptualizing the unimaginable number of plastic fragments and particles swirling in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

A team of climbers from Greenpeace Netherlands hang from the side of the 185m long Stolt Tenacity, preventing the gigantic palm oil tanker from mooring in Rotterdam harbour. © Marten van Dijl

 © Geoff Reid

Aerial of the Rainbow Warrior entering the Hauraki Gulf, with Rangitoto in the background.

Captain Hettie Geenen on the Rainbow Warrior in Manila. © Angel Pago

Hettie Geenen, captain of the Rainbow Warrior, boards a balangay, a traditional Filipino sailboat, during the Climate Justice ship tour in the Philippines. © Angel Pago

© Christian Åslund

Icebergs in Charlotte Bay, Antarctic Peninsula, where Greenpeace is conducting scientific research and documenting the Antarctic’s unique wildlife, to strengthen the proposal to create an Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary.

Greenpeace takes Action against Antarctic Krill Fishing. © Pete Speller

Greenpeace takes action against Antarctic krill fishing.

Bluebell tunicate in the Great Australian Bight.

Bluebell tunicate (Clavelina molluccensis) at Kangaroo Island in the Great Australian Bight during the Greenpeace, Making Oil History Rainbow Warrior Tour. © Richard Robinson

Underwater Banner at Raja Ampat in West Papua. © Awaludinnoer

Greenpeace activists carry a banner reading “Coral Not Coal” as they dive in the Raja Ampat sea during the Rainbow Warrior ship tour in West Papua. Greenpeace calls on the Indonesian government for more protection of the sea.

Diver with the Rainbow Warrior in the Great Australian Bight. © Richard Robinson

Underwater Filmmaker and Marine Biologist Stefan Andrews surfaces from a dive on the Rainbow Warrior at Kangaroo Island in the Great Australian Bight during the Greenpeace, Making Oil History Rainbow Warrior Tour.

Sudhanshu Malhotra is a Multimedia Editor for Greenpeace International, based in Hong Kong. You can follow him on his Instagram.