Baltic 2006 - Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise - marine reserves http://weblog.greenpeace.org/balticsea2006/ en-us Copyright 2006 Thu, 05 Oct 2006 09:57:12 +0000 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Making Waves By Ivona onboard the Arctic Sunrise
The Arctic Sunrise gang
The crew of the Sunrise and EU Commissioner Dimas
© Christian Åslund
My memory store it is overflowing. As I think back to the beginning of this tremendously successful Oceans Campaign on the Baltic Sea, I am amazed at how much we accomplished in four short weeks. Below are some highlights:]]> http://weblog.greenpeace.org/balticsea2006/2006/10/making_waves.html http://weblog.greenpeace.org/balticsea2006/2006/10/making_waves.html updates Thu, 05 Oct 2006 09:57:12 +0000 The Summit of Ambition - a poem by Ivona By Ivona, on board the Arctic Sunrise “Never measure the height of a mountain until you reached the top. Then you will see how low it was." - Dag Hammarskjold (1905-1961), Sweden (Click 'continue reading' to read Ivona's poem)]]> http://weblog.greenpeace.org/balticsea2006/2006/10/the_summit_of_ambition_a_poem.html http://weblog.greenpeace.org/balticsea2006/2006/10/the_summit_of_ambition_a_poem.html updates Thu, 05 Oct 2006 09:48:51 +0000 Victory! Russia acts on trawler girls By Ivona, onboard the Arctic Sunrise

The trawler girls - not going anywhere for a while
© Greenpeace/Jensen
The first thing I heard in the mess room this morning was: “WE WON”. “We Won?”, I repeated to myself still half asleep. “We won”, I said again, this time more awake. After a moment I fully realized what this meant for us. We received a letter from the Russian authorities late last night. Consequently, the events of the last 24 hours mean that our demands regarding the “trawler sisters” (as I outlined in my last report) are being met by the Russian authorities. They are as follows: 1) the ships and the crew are going to be detained for as long as it is necessary to make a substantiated decision about this crime 2) An active ban on the provisions and services was applied, until a final decision is made 3) An inspection of the ships was also ordred to evaluate the situation. We are absolutely impressed and happy, and a bit surprised that our lobbying here was so swift and smooth, and fast. It was something reminescant of the reaction to the Probo Koala case last week! I feel we are breaking all kinds of beaucratic red-tape. This is a very meaningful victory in our fight with fishing pirates! ]]> http://weblog.greenpeace.org/balticsea2006/2006/10/victory_russia_acts_on_trawler.html http://weblog.greenpeace.org/balticsea2006/2006/10/victory_russia_acts_on_trawler.html updates Tue, 03 Oct 2006 09:40:32 +0000 Folkwin Crew.

Folkwin  |  Doctor  |  Netherlands

1.All time favorite book Astrix & Oblix 2. Music that makes you jive. Zap Mamma, 5 strong women who sing African music. 3. What are the words you live by? Be happy with yourself 4. If you could live your "perfect life", where would you be, and what would you be doing? So far my life is perfect. 5. So far, which part of this Baltic Cod campaign has been most memorable? Working together to get up the fishing net by hand and afterwards our action against the Probo Koala in Estonia. 6. What was your worst fear coming on-board the Arctic Sunrise to join this campaign? Getting seasick and not getting over it. At this moment I have had some very bad days but know I'm fine 7. Describe you personality in three words. Friendly, social and stubborn 8. What is your most memorable Greenpeace moment? There are a lot and it is very hard to say. I have a lot of friends via Greenpeace and with them I did a lot small but very important activities and had very memorable moments. They are still doing this and from here I want to say good luck! My best most memorable moment is a discussion we had about GMO in one of the debate sessions of the university of Utrecht. They did not invite us so we came by ourselves, we had a discussion in which we could make our point. After the meeting we got an invitation in where we are invited to come the next week and got speaking time in the program.
]]> http://weblog.greenpeace.org/balticsea2006/2006/10/_folkwin_doctor.html http://weblog.greenpeace.org/balticsea2006/2006/10/_folkwin_doctor.html crew Mon, 02 Oct 2006 10:42:02 +0000 Ulrike Crew.

Ulrike  |  Deckhand  |  Germany

]]> http://weblog.greenpeace.org/balticsea2006/2006/10/ulrike.html http://weblog.greenpeace.org/balticsea2006/2006/10/ulrike.html crew Mon, 02 Oct 2006 10:29:38 +0000 Return of the "Trawler Girls" By Ivona on board the Arctic Sunrise
The notorious trawler girls - they ain't pretty
The notorious "trawler girls' - they ain't pretty
© Greenpeace/Christian Åslund.
We had a very exciting day today, with events unfolding very quickly. We tracked down notorius pirates, collectively referred to as the “Trawler Girls”. We spottted them upon entry to Kaliningrad, and we are going to focus our efforts on them. The "Trawler girls” are five Russian ships, which have been black-listed by the European Union, Iceland, North-East Atlantic Fisheries Comission (NEAFC) and North West Atlantic Fisheries Comission (NAFO). The ships were black listed because they have been involved in Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing and they continue the destruction of deep-sea life and theft of fish, despite their blacklisted status.]]> http://weblog.greenpeace.org/balticsea2006/2006/10/return_of_the_trawler_girls.html http://weblog.greenpeace.org/balticsea2006/2006/10/return_of_the_trawler_girls.html updates Mon, 02 Oct 2006 09:33:21 +0000 Helpful Russians by Ivona onboard the Arctic Sunrise

Tuomas and Texas juggling.
© Greenpeace/Christian Åslund.
Entering Russia was how I always imagined it. Morning, yellow hues of sun lit up the landscape, littered with old, some crumbling, houses, and rusty looking brick factories and other industrial structures. In the distance, forests covered the horizon, and empty, grassy fields looked abandoned and almost out-of-place. Moored ships along the harbour also looked rusty and old, but atmospheric. I did not see conventional beauty of newness and modernism in all of this, but I thought that what I saw was quite beautiful, simply because it is Russia. Legendary Russia, full of secrets and mystery, mafia and wars, communism and blood. ]]> http://weblog.greenpeace.org/balticsea2006/2006/10/helpful_russians.html http://weblog.greenpeace.org/balticsea2006/2006/10/helpful_russians.html updates Sun, 01 Oct 2006 10:12:36 +0000 Picture of the day by Ivona onboard the Arctic Sunrise

© Greenpeace/Christian Åslund.
Folkwin skipping his heart out.]]> http://weblog.greenpeace.org/balticsea2006/2006/10/picture_of_the_day_2.html http://weblog.greenpeace.org/balticsea2006/2006/10/picture_of_the_day_2.html updates Sun, 01 Oct 2006 10:07:17 +0000 Pirate fishing and the law by Ivona onboard the Arctic Sunrise"Local and regional solutions are simply not sufficient if the international community is to deal effectively with fishing pirates, stealing marine life from honest fisherman and future generations". -- Caught red handed: Daylight Robbery on the High Seas, p. 3 We have finally determined our next steps, and we are fully back on track with our Oceans Campaign. We will be arriving in Kaliningrad, Russia tomorrow in the hopes of finding pirate fishing vessels. Who are the Pirates? Pirates are vessels which have been involved in Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated fishing practices. Some of the Pirates have been blacklisted by the European Union, North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) and North West Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NAFO). ]]> http://weblog.greenpeace.org/balticsea2006/2006/09/by_ivona_onboard_the_arctic.html http://weblog.greenpeace.org/balticsea2006/2006/09/by_ivona_onboard_the_arctic.html updates Sat, 30 Sep 2006 22:29:17 +0000 A note from Marcin By Marcin, onboard the Arctic Sunrise Hello. This is again me, Marcin. We’re all still on-board the Arctic Sunrise, dancing with the waves somewhere in the eastern part of the Baltic Sea. The weather is going worse, and our beautiful and warm sun is hidden beyond a thick, gray carpet of angry clouds. But our moods are high as always and we’re ready for the next battle to come. Yesterday was quite calm. It was one of those rare moments of silence right in between two storms. We left the port and harbour of Paldiski at noon (I do wonder why most activities happen exactly at lunch and dinner hours). After that we went into another harbor and anchored there. This new one was really beautiful. A narrow, sandy beach, many huge stones and rocks, and pine forest typical for northern parts of Europe . There were also three wrecks ( one lying on the beach and two half-sunk in a shallow water ) which made the harbour look mysterious. I could feel a sense of adventure while being there. So we stayed there in anchor till today. Probably you’ll think it was quite boring, just drifting. But believe me, every hero needs a day off. It is good to chill out a little, let the level of adrenaline come back to normal. It is also a good time to talk things over, summarize all the good and bad things that happened, find some solutions for the future. In my personal opinion it is a time when our experiences grow. So, that’s all folks. I wish you luck, and see you again soon. ]]> http://weblog.greenpeace.org/balticsea2006/2006/09/a_note_from_marcin.html http://weblog.greenpeace.org/balticsea2006/2006/09/a_note_from_marcin.html updates Sat, 30 Sep 2006 15:25:57 +0000 The Paldiski action: as seen from the quayside By Satu, our Finnish press officer

The central electricity plant in Paldiski
© Satu Pitkänen
What a week. I was enjoying a dinner and some wine at my friend’s place when I received a phone call just before 11 p.m. asking if I could be in Paldiski the following morning. Sure, I’ll try. Didn’t quite make it that morning, but I was nevertheless 24 hours ahead of the Arctic Sunrise. The following afternoon the Sunrise appeared from the fog. We were on a beach on the shore, watching her as she slowly swam into the harbour and dropped anchor in front of the Probo Koala. Just moments before we had received our first media request – a local TV channel asking what a Greenpeace ship is doing sailing towards Paldiski. I have to give credit to Estonian media for being so observant! That first media request was however only the beginning of an avalanche. ]]> http://weblog.greenpeace.org/balticsea2006/2006/09/the_paldiski_action_as_seen_fr.html http://weblog.greenpeace.org/balticsea2006/2006/09/the_paldiski_action_as_seen_fr.html updates Sat, 30 Sep 2006 15:08:26 +0000 Luis Crew.

Luis  |  Chief Engineer |  Colombia

]]> http://weblog.greenpeace.org/balticsea2006/2006/09/luis.html http://weblog.greenpeace.org/balticsea2006/2006/09/luis.html crew Sat, 30 Sep 2006 09:02:37 +0000 Pic of the day: A star is born by Adele, from her flat in Stockholm
Karin Flack
Activist Karin Flack
© Christian Åslund
While we wait for more news from the Arctic Sunrise, the picture of the day just had to be of activist Karin Flack. Karin is one of the activists who climbed the mooring line of the Probo Koala, although luckily for her she wasn't the one who got an icy dip in the water. In her homeland of Sweden, Karin has been quite a hero in the media. We got a bit of a chuckle at the Greenpeace office as papers arrived with headlines like, "HOW KARIN, 25, STOPPED THE DEATH BOAT". (Not to undermine her contribution, but I immediately had mental images of little Karin singlehandedly swimming through a shipping lane and turning the toxic tanker around). You can check out some video of Karin and the team in action on Ocean Defenders TV (choose the Baltic Sea channel and click on the video called "Action on the toxic tanker"). Meanwhile, important decisions are being made as to our next course of action, which of course is classified information at the moment. We will bring you the news as soon as it comes to hand. (Yes I know, vague ... but kind of exciting right?)]]> http://weblog.greenpeace.org/balticsea2006/2006/09/pic_of_the_day_a_star_is_born.html http://weblog.greenpeace.org/balticsea2006/2006/09/pic_of_the_day_a_star_is_born.html updates Sat, 30 Sep 2006 08:16:58 +0000 The end. Or just the beginning? By Ivona, on board the Arctic Sunrise
Stavros Dimas on the Arctic Sunrise
Mr. Dimas on the Sunrise with some bedtime reading
© Christian Åslund
Today I shook the hand of a man. A man, who is now instrumental in the case of Probo Koala, and the maze of companies and countries hiding behind it. Stavros Dimas is his name, and he is the European Union Environmental Commissioner. He, along with the Estonian Minister of the Environment and other Estonian politicians, came on-board the Arctic Sunrise today. Mr. Dimas will be following the Probo Koala case from now on, to ensure accountability and punishment of responsible parties in the Ivory Coast toxic dumping. He also stated that he will push the European Union Member States to ratify some legislation in the Basel Convention, specifically, legislation which forbids the export of dangerous toxic products from Europe because less-developed countries are not equipped to treat them safely and properly. ]]> http://weblog.greenpeace.org/balticsea2006/2006/09/the_end_or_just_the_beginning.html http://weblog.greenpeace.org/balticsea2006/2006/09/the_end_or_just_the_beginning.html updates Fri, 29 Sep 2006 08:51:18 +0000 Tuomas Crew.

Tuomas  |  Deckhand |  Finland

]]> http://weblog.greenpeace.org/balticsea2006/2006/09/tuomas.html http://weblog.greenpeace.org/balticsea2006/2006/09/tuomas.html crew Thu, 28 Sep 2006 12:59:12 +0000