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Photo: Copyright Oliver Tjaden / Greenpeace.

oats have always been essential to Greenpeace. From our first days as a grass root movement on board the Phyllis Cormack, to the legacy that comes with the Rainbow Warrior. Few will forget the night of the French act of terrorism that

caused Fernando Pereira’s death as the Rainbow Warrior filled with water in the Waitemata. It is that night

which cemented the deep connection many Kiwis feel to the Rainbow Warrior, and by extension, to Greenpeace.

The original Rainbow Warrior was a converted fishery research trawler, acquired by Greenpeace with the help of the World Wildlife Fund in the Netherlands, to take direct action to prevent whaling back in 1977. The rusty boat stayed with Greenpeace for a mere eight out of her thirty years, before that fateful Auckland night. Her time with Greenpeace was marked by battles to save whales and protect seals, and played a key role in ultimately ending nuclear testing at Moruroa Atoll. Her final great deed was aiding the people of Rongelap in the Marshall Islands to evacuate their contaminated atoll to safe soil after US nuclear tests in the area.

Four years later, the second Rainbow Warrior was launched in Hamburg, Germany. She was pivotal in putting the international spotlight on indiscriminate driftnet fishing in the Pacific which led to global ban of driftnet fishing in international waters in the early 1990s. Out of the Greenpeace New Zealand office, the second Rainbow Warrior led a tour to create a GE free New Zealand – the reason behind the absence of GE crops in New Zealand soil to date. Over two winters she exposed the destruction caused by bottom trawlers in the Tasman Sea, footage of which was beamed into a UN meeting on global fisheries causing much squirming of New Zealand delegates and change in fishing regulations. Around this country and many others she was also used to highlight the action needed on climate change.

But after 22 years of environmental campaigning, the second Rainbow Warrior was retired and sold to Friendship, a charity situated in Bangladesh. She has been rechristened to Rongdhonu, the Bengali word for rainbow, and is being used as a hospital ship.

This year, a new Rainbow Warrior returns to New Zealand, and to her physical grave in Matauri Bay. As the new Rainbow Warrior approaches Kiwi waters, a new sense of hope is set to sweep the country.

There are no discernible similarities between the two ships; the

old and beaten façade and converted interior of the old Warrior, and the smooth custom built eco-campaigning vessel that is the new Warrior.

The new Rainbow Warrior certainly looks the part, her crisp

white sails catching the wind like the wings of the peace dove painted on her bow. Never has a vessel been built solely for environmental campaigning, and so the Rainbow Warrior is unique - not just in design, but also in function.

The 340 tonne steel hull for the Warrior was built in Gdansk, Poland. Steel was chosen for its flexibility and the relative ease it takes to maintain. The shape of the hull has been designed for maximum fuel conservation and it marks the first environmentally sound design choice made in the planning of the Rainbow Warrior.

The rest of the yacht was assembled in the Fassmer Shipyard

near Bremen, Germany. Here the Warrior took shape. A prominent feature of the ship are her A-frame masts, their design and position carefully determined and based upon efficiency research performed by the University of Delft, the Netherlands, and the Wolfson Unit in Southampton, UK.

The interior workings of the ship are also commendable: a diesel-propulsion engine will power the ship should the sails fail to do so, a central filling system for oil and fuel is in place in order to prevent spillages, and a heating system which uses the heat created by the engine to heat the water on board. Many other aspects of the ship have been tweaked so it reaches the highest environmental standard - something testified by the green ship class notation with green passport and the voluntary environmental protection class notation.

The new Rainbow Warrior is a state of the art campaigning vessel, equipped with the necessary technology, a modern yet modest interior and an international crew of dedicated environmentalists.

The importance of ships in Greenpeace campaigning cannot be

overstated: apart from offering a more environmentally friendly way of travelling, ships allow us to access the 40% of the world covered by water. Whether it’s to physically block ships carrying illegal cargo or those who carry out illegal or questionable activities, or whether it’s to offer aid to those in need by transporting food, people and necessities. The new Rainbow Warrior has spent the last months aiding the local governments in South Africa tracking and identifying illegal fishing boats, and the same is

being done by a n o t h e r G r e e n p e a c e ship – the Esperanza – much closer to home: in the Pacific.

The Rainbow Warrior will grace our

shores early this year, and her mere presence will highlight the very real possibilities of environmentally friendly living – and boating. The donations of many thousands of supporters have built this ship. Kiwis donated specifically for the creation of the onboard wet room – a plaque there acknowledges our contribution. The new Rainbow Warrior represents making the right choice in innovation and technology for our time. It is a message of making clean choices and walking the talk at a time when we find our Government pushing us towards a dirty energy future including deep sea oil drilling. The ship tour will be a celebration, an expression of unity, a warning, a choice, and a possible solution.

“There will come a time when the earth is sick and the animals and plants begin to die. Then the Warriors of the Rainbow will descend from the sky and gather people of all nations, colours and beliefs to join together in the fight to save the Earth.”

This Native American Cree Indian Prophecy inspired the name Rainbow Warrior

Technical Facts about the new Rainbow Warrior

Flag: NetherlandsVessel Type: Motor Sail yacht with helicopter landing

deckClass: Germanischer Lloyd, Notations include Green

PassportLength Overall: 57.92mBeam (Max) : 11.30mDraught(Max) : 5.15mAir Draught: 50.15mGross Tonnage : 838

Sail Rig: 2 A frame mast with 5 sailsMain & Auxiliary Engines: Caterpillar

Speed: 15 knotsCruising range: 4500nm

Accommodation: 32 personTotal sail surface 1290 sq metre

RAINBOW WARRIORJANA LIGHT

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