Rainbow Warrior Bombed and sunk (1985)

            On July 10, 1985, two bombs placed on the hull of the Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior exploded, sinking the ship and killing two crew members. 

            The Rainbow Warrior was Greenpeace’s primary oceanic protest boat.  It was in harbor at Auckland, New Zealand, preparing for a voyage to interfere with planned nuclear tests by the French government at a nearby atoll.  Two spies from the French secret service placed the bombs, one near the propeller and another against the engine room wall. 

(logo by Greenpeace)

            Just before midnight, crew members reported:  “Suddenly, the lights go out.  There’s the sharp crack of breaking glass.  Then, a sudden roar of water.”  They thought that they’d been hit by another boat.  Then came a second explosion.  Within minutes, the boat listed, water filling the hull.

            The French government at first denied their involvement, but soon admitted that their secret agents had placed the bombs.  Reaction in New Zealand was intense and drove bad relationships between the two countries for years.  Eventually the United Nations was enlisted for arbitration that led to a French apology and compensation to New Zealand.  The secret agents were arrested and tried—and imprisoned for a mockingly brief two years each.

Rainbow Warrior II (photo by Salvatore Barbera)

            The original Rainbow Warrior began its work for Greenpeace in 1978.  Before then, it had been a fishery research vessel for the UK Government.  Its first voyage for Greenpeace was to Iceland to protest commercial whaling.  Later it moved to the Pacific Ocean to campaign against nuclear testing.  The ship was named after a Native American saying that in a mistreated world “… people will rise up like Warriors of the Rainbow….”  And, indeed, the Rainbow Warrior rose again.  A second ship, Rainbow Warrior II, entered Greenpeace service in 1989, leading campaigns against nuclear testing, whaling, inhumane fishing, climate change and other environmental issues.  It was retired after 22 years, in 2011.

            That fall, a new Rainbow Warrior III entered service for Greenpeace.  The new ship was built purposefully as a protest campaign vessel.  It is nearly 200 feet long and can carry up to 30 crew members.  Storage space is available for 8 tons of scientific equipment for research work.  It is as fast as the commercial vessels it confronts; can launch small boats in high waves; has a helicopter pad for aerial surveillance; and has state-of-the-art communications systems.  As well as being mean, it is green.  It is powered largely by the wind (5 massive sails on an A-frame mast system), sports energy efficient hull and engines, and disposes no waste into the water.

References: 

Greenpeace.  The Bombing of the Rainbow Warrior.  Available at:  http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/about/history/the-bombing-of-the-rainbow-war/.  Accessed July 24, 2017.

New Zealand History.  Sinking the Rainbow Warrior.  New Zealand History, New Zealand Government.  Available at:  https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/nuclear-free-new-zealand/rainbow-warrior. Accessed Jluly 24, 2017.

This Month in Conservation

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March 2
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March 3
World Wildlife Day and Creation of CITES (1973)
March 3
Isle Royale National Park Authorized (1931)
March 4
Hot Springs National Park Established (1921)
March 5
Lynn Margulis, Evolutionary Biologist, Born (1938)
March 6
Martha Burton Williamson, Pioneering Malacologist, Born (1843)
March 7
Luther Burbank Born (1849)
March 8
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March 9
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March 10
Cape Lookout National Seashore Established (1966)
March 11
Save the Redwoods League Founded (1918)
March 12
Girl Scouts Founded (1912)
March 12
Charles Young, First African American National Park Superintendent, Born (1864)
March 13
National Elephant Day, Thailand
March 14
First National Wildlife Refuge Created (1903)
March 15
Harold L. Ickes, Secretary of the Interior, Born (1874)
March 16
Amoco Cadiz Runs Aground (1978)
March 17
St. Patrick and Ireland’s Snakes
March 18
Nation’s First Wildlife Refuge Created (1870)
March 19
When the Swallows Return to Capistrano
March 20
“Our Common Future” Published (1987)
March 21
International Day of Forests
March 22
World Water Day
March 23
Sitka National Historical Park Created (1910)
March 24
John Wesley Powell, Western Explorer, Born (1834)
March 25
Norman Borlaug, Father of the Green Revolution, Born (1914)
March 26
Marjorie Harris Carr, Pioneering Florida Conservationist, Born (1915)
March 26
Kruger National Park Established (1898)
March 27
Trans-Alaska Pipeline Begun (1975)
March 28
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March 29
Niagara Falls Stops Flowing (1848)
March 30
The United States Buys Alaska (1867)
March 31
Al Gore, Environmental Activist and U.S. Vice President, Born (1948)
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