The day started again at 5.45 with the general alarm reverberating throughout the ship... we all gathered in the bridge, bleary-eyed, and watched as one, two, three... a series of big tuna purse seiners made their way ominously out of the harbour and towards the Rainbow Warrior. Those in line behind them cast their spotlights on us. In the pre-dawn light, it was a chilling sight.

The vessels - more than ten in total - began circling us and locking us into place. It was quite clear what their intention was - cutting off all access to the Rainbow Warrior, and obscuring us from outside view. Given the threats and aggressive talk by the fishermen over the past days about "exterminating Greenpeace" and being "happy if I was the one to sink their ship" the situation was definitely serious.

Soon, the action started. Fishermen began boarding the Rainbow, tying their ships to ours, pelting us with more eggs, pushing and pulling our crew out of the way as they charged across the deck to secure their lines. I saw our cook sent sprawling across the deck by one fisherman with a mooring line trying to get it in place - fortunately, Robert was unhurt and a little later said to me with a huge smile "I've been at sea for thirty years and I've never seen anything like this in me life!" (much funnier when said in a strong Liverpool accent).

Then came the water hoses, and from the bridge it felt like we were going through a carwash. A funny moment occurred when we watched as one fisherman threw a bag of rubbish on to our deck, and Rafael, our Spanish "garbologist" (deckhand in charge of the rubbish) headed straight there to collect the bag for later sorting and recycling. Probably a good thing for the planet that they threw it - call me cynical, but these fishermen didnÂ’t seem like the recycling sort.

A small boat came around our bow and towards the anchor chain with cutting equipment. With angry fishermen on deck, water hoses, chain cutters heading to the anchor - and all the past days' threats towards our ship - the Captain put out a distress call. The first call was blocked by constant interference over the VHF radio, so it had to go out by satellite. Soon we had a response, and after some discussion, a tug was offered to free the Rainbow Warrior from the blockade and escort us out of Marseille.

While we were free and willing to leave under our own engines or sails, we were told that this would be seen as provocative and would lead to another clash. We did not come here for any conflict on the water with the French tuna fishermen, we came to expose the threat that the industry is placing on the Mediterranean Sea and the bluefin tuna stocks, and to promote marine reserves. For that reason, we accepted to be towed, and as we drew away from the blockade, the fishermen returned in a line to blockade the port of Marseille again.

The past two days have really made me wonder what are the motives of the French tuna fishermen. First they stop us from entering then they stop us from leaving, then they hold the port to hostage, blocking passenger ferries and cargo ships from coming and going. Putting pressure on the authorities to keep their industry in business is kind of pointless when it is the industry that is driving itself (and the tuna) towards extinction. They would be better sitting down to discuss with Greenpeace, WWF, tuna scientists - all of whom agree on the huge level of illegal fishing and the dire state of the species - and try to develop a way to manage their fishery to give it any future at all.

And as for the Rainbow Warrior and her campaign Defending Our Mediterranean... well, you can blockade us out, you can blockade us in, but you canÂ’t stop us from getting across the message we bring. And youÂ’d be mad to try.

Now... we continue with our campaign, towards Cartagena in Spain.

Mediterraneo Vivo!