On its first ever voyage, the Arctic Sunrise went to the North Sea and the northeast Atlantic, to document Greenpeace marine pollution from offshore oil drilling. Since then, it has worked everywhere from within 450 miles of the North Pole to Antarctica’s Ross Sea, and has navigated both the Congo and the Amazon Rivers.
The ship’s design as an “icebreaker” means that its rounded, keel-less hull allows it to navigate through sea ice. In 1997, the Arctic Sunrise became the first ship to circumnavigate James Ross Island in the Antarctic, a journey only made possible by climate change after a 200-meter thick ice shelf connecting the island to the Antarctic continent collapsed.
As its name would suggest, the Arctic Sunrise has made multiple journeys to the Arctic Circle, including visits to Alaska, Norway, Russia, and more to oppose and bear witness to environmental destruction at the hands of the oil industry.
In the Southern Oceans, the Arctic Sunrise, along with its sister ship the Esperanza, thwarted Japanese attempts to pursue its so-called “scientific” whaling program. It also chased pirate vessels fishing illegally for Patagonian Toothfish to the pirate port of Mauritius.
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From the Arctic Sunrise Webcam
