Greenpeace - Making Waves: Captain's blog

That's Mike, current captain of the Rainbow Warrior, seen through the bridge window. As I write, the Warrior is still in position - blocking the palm oil tanker from leaving port. This morning activists added to the pressure by climbing on palm oil holding tanks with banners. [ Photo here. ]

We've never done this kind of action in Indonesia before so this is all pretty intense for people on the ground there. Full story here.

Here's captain Mike's account from yesterday:

Both main engines fed into the one spinning propeller. The old girl was alive with power and her anchor clear of the mud. The tide was swift - 3 knots - a spring tide. Cautiously at first - not wanting to be detected - I edged the Rainbow Warrior out of the anchorage. But once clear of the other ships I put the engines on full astern. A shudder came up through the steel deck beneath my feet. The old girl leaped backwards: two knots, three, five knots. We were abeam of the Westema, a motor tanker loading 30 000 tonnes of Palm Oil Product. We were just fifty meters off.

“Let go starboard anchor,” I called out to Ed, “and let it run.” 160 meters of anchor chain was laid out on the harbour floor. “Let go the port anchor. Heave on the starboard.” Ed was running about the windlass, undoing the brake, putting the starboard side in gear, letting chain out on the port anchor and heaving it in on other.
When 40 meters of chain was out on the port anchor Ed stopped. He shackled a bite of mooring line that ran all the way from the stern to the anchor cable (the bite had been previously prepared and fed up the hawse pipe). Ed went back to paying out on port - all the time heaving the ship forward on the starboard anchor. The aft mooring team - wearing green /Save Our Forests/ T-shirts - joined the party. They heaved away at the ends of the mooring line, until the line started to lead astern and Rainbow Warrior was brought tight up between her two anchors - like a Christmas cracker - one leading from the bow and the other leading from the stern.

Rainbow Warrior is blocking the Westema from sailing and she has a banner between her masts that says “Palm Oil Kills Forests and Climate”.

Comments

Its about time someone got out there and made people see what is happening, its just a shame that many people think you are the ones in the wrong. Why should people of Greenpeace be arrested when these people are allowed to continue to destroy the forests and get away with it.

I AM WITH YOU 100%

LOU X

Posted by: Louise Harding | November 16, 2007 10:55 PM

we two step behind you..Rainbow Warrior good move!

Posted by: MM Lile | November 19, 2007 5:58 PM