20 April 2006

A job for the weekend?

by Ed, onboard the Esperanza

The West Africa leg of the campaign is now over for the Esperanza and everything that was hoped for seems to have come to fruition - amazingly! There remains a lot of work to do now, with the ministers in Guinea and Spain and the EU...an unenviable job for the people of the EJF and Greenpeace. I think what we have all managed to do here so far, may well have long lasting effects which can help to make a change for the better, for people and the ocean, so well done everybody!!

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Binar 4 Fined

This morning we heard from the Spanish authorities that the Guinean government has sent a fax confirming the cargo of the Binar 4 was illegal and that also a fine has already been imposed and paid.The Spanish government.

The Spanish fisheries ministry will be announcing this during today - and apparently they will be praising the work we've done to draw attention to this issue. Also, all the fish that can be verified as Guinean will be held in a freezer until a decision made on its fate - here's hoping it gets shipped back to Guinea! Of course, it is hard to know where some of the fish comes - the pirates fish don't care where the fish comes from, so there isn't necessarily any reliable records.

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19 April 2006

Binar 4: Confiscation Confirmed!

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

More great news! As the Esperanza approaches Santa Cruz de Tenerife, we've just heard from Sara, who's back in Las Palmas, that the government will be confiscating any fish from Guinean waters that they find on board the Binar 4. The fisheries ministry have also invited us along to witness their inspection of the reefer. We don't know when the inspection will be yet - stay tuned, I'm sure there will be more news on this.

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Videoblog: Wrapping up the pirates

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

Welcome to Las Palmas! After a chase of over 1000 miles and six days occupying the "Binar 4" we prepare to say goodbye to sunny shores of the Canary Islands. And Sam and Sara do their last videoblog together... boohooo...

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18 April 2006

Victory in Las Palmas! Binar 4 in deep deep trouble... (updated with photos)

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

It's Tuesday in Las Palmas, and have we got news for you! After a seven day occupation of the Binar 4, the two goverments - Guinea and Spain, have agreed that the Binar 4's 200-tonne cargo of fish is illegal. The Guinean fisheries ministry are right now meeting to discuss fines for the pirate reefer. Once they've made their decision, they'll present their findings to the Spanish government, who've already told us the 11,000 boxes of stolen fish will be confiscated - and hopefully returned to Guinea.

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17 April 2006

Day SIX - another activist arrested, but we're getting closer...

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

It's 9pm on Monday, day six of the Binar 4 protest. I've just come in from the bridge wing of the Esperanza, where Nadia's keeping watch on the reefer through binoculars. I've also just been talking to Sara - she's over by the reefer - who tells me that one of the activists has come down, and has been arrested - so we still have 2 people - one on the crow's nest, and one on the crane. They've been there for something like 90 hours now. After the arrest, Mr Kim, the apparent owner of the Binar 4 climbed up on the crane and started arguing with the remaining activist, and threatened to bring down the other activist on the crow's nest himself. I doubt she would be impressed. Anyway, the police intervened again, and made him back off. As I Sara told me all this on the phone, there was a rousing cheer from the gang on the dockside, as the police car went off with Oscar inside.

The guys on the Binar 4 have been incredible - this afternoon they were still smiling, still full of energy. Unfortunately, there wasn't much room on top of the crane, so the two guys there had barely enough room to sit, never mind lie. One of the climbers even gave a live radio interview - she conducted it by shouting from the top of the mast!

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Monday Update from Esperanza and Binar 4

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

Hello from the Esperanza. Easter is over, at least here in Gran Canaria - there's a public holiday in other parts of Europe, but Las Palmas is definitely back at work. If I look out the window of the ship's campaign office, I can see the the masts of the Binar 4, tucked away behind a row of longliners - however, it's about half a our walk around the port to get there.

We've now got the webcam pointed in that direction - off the starboard side, but it's pretty hard to make out the Binar 4. Watch for passing traffic!

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Another Activist Arrested on the Binar 4

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

I'm posting this in the early hours of Monday morning - we've had a continuous occupation of the Binar 4 since Wednesday afternoon!

Today though, another activist, Xavier (AKA Happy) was arrested - he'd climbed down from the Crow's Nest to talk to the others, but got more or less muggged by one of the Binar 4's crew. The police intervened, arrested Xavier and booked him for disobedience. He's spending tonight in the cells.

The current group of Spanish activists have been on the Binar 4 since the early hours of Friday morning - that's nearly four days on board, on the crow's nest and crane. These activists had replaced the earlier group that had gone on board from the Esperanza on Wednesday afternoon - the changeover was done in the earlier hours of Friday morning. So the Spanish team have been up there nearly 72 hours!

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15 April 2006

Turtle activists held over the weekend in Delhi

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza in Las Palmas, The Canary Islands

Update from New Delhi - In an absurd move, of the 12 activists arrested for protesting outside the house of Orissa's Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik, three have been charged under the Wildlife Protection Act, and are being held over the weekend at the Tughlaq Road Police Station.

The ridiculous charges come because they transported dead Olive Ridley turtles from Orissa to Delhi in order to bring attention to the fact that in the last 10 years, a shocking 100,000 Olive Ridley turtles have died in Orissa. The UN had marked 2006 as the "International Year of the Turtle", an irony that's not lost on us here on the Defending our Oceans campaign.

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Saturday afternoon - protest continues on the Binar 4

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

It's a hot Saturday afternoon here in Las Palmas. Down the quay from the Esperanza, it's business as a the Binar 4 - we've still got activists on board the ship, up on the crane and crow's nest. That means that we've had a continuous occupation since Wednesday afternoon - four days! Not much has happened since the owner of the Binar 4 hung the banner saying "Greenpeace is violent" (peace is violence?). The police are being quite friendly towards us, and to the activists on board. Sara, Sarah and I have mentioned in earlier blogs, we're holding out for Monday - after the Easter holidays - when the Spanish government really has make a decision on the 11,000 boxes of illegally caught fish in the Binar 4's hold.

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14 April 2006

Strange things happen when you are no longer at sea

by Sara, onboard the Esperanza

Strange things happen when you are no longer at sea. It's not as though we have been away that long, but even so, what you become attuned to in a short period of time is turned on its head.

The mess room tables looked completely naked this morning, until Ed pointed out that we no longer had to have the sticky table cloths ('elephant skin') that stop your plate sliding from under your knife and fork like those guys with the sarsaparillas in western movie saloon bars.

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Guineans say "thank you"

by Sarah, onboard the Esperanza

I have just come back from a wander down to the Binar 4 to visit the activists, who are still up on the crane and masts. The crew of the Binar 4 have now put up their own banner to rival ours which says 'Greenpeace is Violent' in Spanish. The team onboard managed to get our banners back in place and are still happy.

But what really touched me was the three Guineans who had come down to the Esperanza to say "thank you" to us for what we are doing. They said that from Madrid to Barcelona and beyond all their mates are on the phone asking whether they 'saw the Greenpeace stuff on TV?', and saying how great they think it is. They said that Guinea is a poor country, their fish is being stolen and that they were really happy to see us here. If we do manage to have open boats here in Las Palmas they said they wanted to come down.

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Wallpaper: Atlantic Wildlife

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

Due to popular demand - like everyone who posted the comments Slideshow: Atlantic Wildlife, West Africa thread, Elaine in Amsterdam has knocked up wallpapers of some photographs from our trip, including dolphins, turtles, terns and a booby (oooh, misbehave!).

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Poaching a pirate press conference

by Jim, in Las Palmas, the Canary Islands

Ok, here's the word from Jim, who went the Binar 4 press conference yesterday. In other breaking news - Marta is out of jail!

I couldn't believe it when I got the phone call from Paloma this morning: "the shipowner is going to give a press conference in front of the Binar 4 at 12 noon" This would be an excellent opportunity to get down there and tell our side of the story - let the journalists and the world know what is really going on in Guinean waters - and indeed in every ocean of the world. The problem we faced was that the police here are being very strict. The Spanish campaign team have already been barred from the port, and there was no way that the port communications manager was going to let anyone from Greenpeace into the shipowner's press conference!

So... we frantically hatched a plan. Donning dark glasses, a clipboard and a camera round my neck, I smuggled myself through the police checkpoint and mingled into the throng of hacks poking cameras and microphones into the face of the shipowner on the quayside.

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13 April 2006

Arrival in Las Palmas (updated) - Marta still in Jail (not anymore!)

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

Welcome to Las Palmas! It's 20:04, GMT+1 (21:04 in Amsterdam). We've just come alongside in the commercial port of Las Palmas. In what was either a bitter twist of irony, or a sense of humour on the part of the port authorities, we've been berthed less than 200m from the Binar 4.

As a result, as the pilot took us into dock, we came in past the Binar 4, and could wave to our guys the crows nest and crane. They've been up there for more than 24 hours now!

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24 Hours on the Binar 4, and its murky history

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

Latest news from the peaceful protest on the Binar 4 - one of our activists, Marta, has been arrested - but three others remain up on the masts and on the monkey island of the pirate reefer - where they've been for nearly 24 hours! Marta is still being held by the police, but we're hoping she'll be released soon. They're making sure that there's no movement of fish from the ship. There's constant police presence on the quayside, but it's friendly enough. Earlier today, the owner of the Binar 4 held a press conference at the Binar 4. One of our people on land, Jim, was present, and he'll blog something on this later.

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Video: The effects of pirate fishing

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

Guinea's coastal communities are dependant on fishing, and are feeling the effects pirate fleets trawling their waters. This video shows the coastal communities of Guinea harvesting fish, and the pirate vessels that come within 4 miles of the coast to steal fish.

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12 April 2006

Pirate Fishing: The tangled web

by Sara & Dave, onboard the Esperanza, and Elaine back in Amsterdam

Ok, we admit it - this whole pirate fishing business is very messy, very complicated, and incredibly hard to explain. The pirates like it that way - it makes it easier for them to cover their tracks. Sara, with the help of onboard memory man Sam, spent a large chunk of last weekend huddled around a table in the lounge, with a bag of crayons, and lots of A4 sheets sellotaped together, trying to make sense of it all. They were also trying to illustrate the complicity of the great pirate conspiracy in a way that would help people not on board the Esperanza to understand it all, and wouldn't think that we were all mad.

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Activists on board the Binar 4! (updated, with photos)

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

Update from the Esperanza: As the Binar 4 entered the port of Las Palmas, with "Stolen Fish" painted on its sides, four of our activists climbed on board, as a peaceful protest. So far, the authorities in Las Palmas are refusing to authorize the Binar 4 from offloading. Our activists are keeping an eye on things until Spain makes a move to confiscate this illegally caught fish.

When the reefer waiting to enter the port, the activists also branded it with the slogan "Stolen Fish" - painted five times across both sides of the hull. As already mentioned in the blog, we've been following this ship for six days - since we caught it illegally transshipping just outside Guinean waters, with trawlers that had been fishing in Guinean waters. More »

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Pirate Fish Smuggler Nabbed in Las Palmas

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

Breaking news! - we have caught up with the Binar 4, the ship loaded with more than 11,000 boxes of stolen fish as it entered the Las Palmas, in the Canary Islands.

As the pirate smuggler waited to enter the port, activists in inflatables managed to paint "STOLEN FISH" in big white letters no less than five times on both sides of the reefer.

More news as we have it...

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Stolen Fish: Where your dinner comes from

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

Throughout the Pirate Fishing leg of the Defending our Oceans expedition, we've attempted to tell the story of the stolen fish - pulled from the waters of already impoverished West African countries like Sierra Leone and Guinea, and served up on European dinner plates.

European shoppers pay more money for these fish than would be paid in African nations - but ultimately it's the African people that pay the price. The middlemen are the pirate fishing companies, taking the fish for free, and making a fortune from it. They don't have to contribute to maintaining fisheries or any of the practices supported by legal fishing companies. It's a race to the bottom - why obey the laws when the guy next to you isn't - and he's making more money, and not getting caught.

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Slideshow: Where your fish comes from

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

This is where your fish comes from. Tthe fishing vessels in this slideshow are licenced to fish in Guinean waters - but just because they're not pirates doesn't mean that there's acceptable conditions on board, for either the crew or their cargo of fish.

The fish are stored in squalid conditions below deck, in rusting fish trays. The freezers have - quite frankly - seen better times - they're covered in rust and grime. The temperature guages are rotted away. The trays of fish and cardboard boxes are stacked haphazardly.

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10 April 2006

Crazy Jumping Dolphins!

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

It's the dead patch of the afternoon - the heat of the day has set in, and the campaign office is sticky and stuffy. On the ship, watches are being checked - how close to tea break?

Then the cry goes up from Nadia, on the bridge, "Crazy Jumping Dolphins". There's a stampede from the campaign office towards the bridge. If I haven't left the telephoto lens on my camera, there's a few seconds of juggling, swearing and fidgeting before I follow the others out.

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Slideshow: Atlantic Wildlife, West Africa

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

It seems like years since we departed Cape Town and starting sailing north. Now, as we trail the Binar4 towards Las Palmas, it's probably time to do a little gallery of some of the wildlife we've seen along the way. I've done our best to identify all of the animals correctly - but please tell me if I'm wrong!

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Mauritania and the Ship From Hell

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

As we sail north towards the Canary Islands, it's sobering to read an article posted by Reuters on the dwindling state of Mauritania's fish stocks. The problems we've been highlighting are widespread across the waters of many poor countries According to the people that journalist Nick Tattersall talks to, the trawlers doing must of the damage in Mauritania are from the EU.

As a result, the EU boats can clean out the deeper parts of the 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ), while Mauritanian boats are small, outdated, and unable to compete. Like in the countries further south, most of the Mauritanian fishermen ply their trade in pirogues - the long wooden boats, painted with bright colours. According to the Fisheries Minister - €600 million of fish caught every year, Mauritania only receives about €100 million - he new government is determined to crack down on this drain on the country's resources.

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10,000 boxes of stolen fish making for Las Palmas

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

Monday morning: The Esperanza is currently trailing the Panamian-registered refrigerated cargo vessel Binar4, as it makes a beeline for Las Palmas, in the Canary Islands - notorious centre of the fish-laundering business. We've been close to the Panamanian-registered Binar4 since before the weekend, as it started steaming north. This morning our folks in Spain presented evidence to the Fisheries Ministry in Madrid, outlining why the ship should be banned from entering the port of Las Palmas when it arrives, in two or three days time.

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8 April 2006

Gravity is free, use it

by Hughie, onboard the Esperanza

Hughie, our on-board pilot, was on the Esperanza during the Southern Ocean leg of the Defending Oceans expedition. Now he's back! And he's decided to tell you a story about how helicopters stay in the air...

Flying in a job like this requires special techniques that you wouldn't normally use in commercial aviation. Working with photographers is always a challenge, as they need and expect precision and positioning. Keep the light right, keep the height right - no specks in the horizon, and no full frame - it must be right. These pictures are going out for the world to see.

Lots of unseen forces are working against you when you fly, and a helicopter is a bit like a Bumble Bee, in so much as it should not fly!

If you treat air as water, and you can get a picture in your mind of how it behaves, then you have a start, and you can turn these forces round to work with you. I have done kayaking in rivers, and water behaves the same way as air when it is confronted by an obstacle. When air hits a mountain it is deflected up - this is a good situation, when it goes over the top it rolls and descends - this can be bad.

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Slideshow: Helicopters and pirate ships

by Pierre & Dave, onboard the Esperanza

You've seen the Southern Ocean from the air - now it's time to get a bird's eye view of the flat seas off West Africa, where pirate fishing vessels pack their freezers full of stolen fish. Now Hughie writes about flying, and we join him in the heli, in this slideshow...

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7 April 2006

Callous Bastards

by Pete, captain of the Esperanza

After being in an area such as this for a while, you begin to get a picture of what's going on around you. The way the weather changes at different times of day, the night sky, the phases of the moon, the wildlife, even the change in sea water temperature. But you also learn to identify the areas where you are likely to meet other craft; it is knowledge that just accumulates.

As has been well documented in other weblogs, we see a lot of local fisherman. They are in small canoes (pirogues), and generally speaking, in shallower water and close to the shore. The concentrations and exact locations vary - depends on the where the fish are I suppose.

These small craft do not show up on radar, or are lost in the "sea clutter". Radar cannot be relied upon to give the bridge watchkeepers sufficient warning of their presence. It's only by keeping a sharp lookout - especially so at night - that a ship will have sufficient warning and therefore sufficient time to avoid running them down and probably killing their occupants.

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6 April 2006

Return of the zombie ships

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

Part 2 of a two-part story: Read Part 1 »

Last week, we told the story of the Chinese zombie ships of West Africa - this week we went back, and interviewed the men on board.

The Chinese fisherman clears his throat and gives a nervous glance to his right. "When I'm fishing I will be busy - it will be easy to forget".

We're standing on the deck of one the shattered 'zombie ships', the Lian Run 16, anchored 120km from the coast of Guinea. 38-year-old Jia, a lean, hardy man with sad eyes and a ready smile, is telling us how, five days ago, he said goodbye to his wife and 11-year old son, Xinyi. The next time he sees them, his son will be 13. It's easier to forget, it seems, than torture oneself.

After job losses in a coal plant in his native city of Dalian, Jia signed up for fishing through an agency. The Lian Run company flew him, his wife and his son all the way to Conakry in Guinea. Now he's on his own, on board a decrepit ship that isn't going anywhere.

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Slideshow: Return of the zombie pirate ships

by Pierre, onboard the Esperanza

Last week, we visited the Chinese zombie ships of West Africa, and published a slideshow of images showing the state of the ships - this week we went back to visit the crews on board, and to find out about the living conditions. Pierre Gleize's photographs bear witness to the situation.

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Videoblog: Pirate ship graveyard

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

We're taken on a tour of the pirate ship graveyard 150 km off the coast of Guinea, West Africa. Talking to some of the crew, 13 000km away from home, we hear stories of how they got to be there and see the ramshackle conditions they have to live in. Get an insight into the real business of pirate fishing.

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3 April 2006

Elvis has left the Atlantic

by Sara (media), onboard the Esperanza

It's a strange life. There aren't many jobs that I can think of where you stand on the bridge wing of a ship in the middle of the ocean, in the middle of the night, staring intently at a distant glow of light on the inky black horizon, willing with every fibre of your being that the glow will brighten into a group of pirate ships. Not a single one of us on that bridge wing questioned the normality of the situation.

Somewhere out on the water was our inflatable, the African Queen, carrying Sarah, Sam, Pierre, Stan, and Sabine, ready to investigate the "happening" on the horizon. Within seconds of launching, the African Queen zoomed away from our mother ship, disappearing into the night.

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Reefer Madness

by Sarah (campaigner), onboard the Esperanza

Rumours of our retirement have been greatly exaggerated. Despite reports of the Esperanza heading to the 'tropical' island of South Georgia (it has penguins!), we've actually been on the tail of the pirate trawlers all this time. Now Sarah brings us up to date with the latest adventure - Dave

I was woken up at 11pm last night, with the news that there were possible targets on the radar. I rushed up to the bridge to see the glowing green smudges on the radar. The smudges were not moving ­ a possible sign of boats transshipping - transferring cargo from one to the other.

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2 April 2006

Please, please check what you buy

by Hughie, onboard the Esperanza

Over the last week, we have witnessed some of the most degrading situations imaginable. Fishermen who are subjected to virtual slavery, and condemned to work aboard illegal vessels. The vessels themselves are not even fit for scrap - how they stay afloat is a complete mystery.

These men have to live on board with their documents held by the people they work for. Recently we assisted the fisheries enforcement agents to arrest a vessel that was 'not on the list' and escort it to Conakry where it will be 'dealt with'. For the boat, use it as a breakwater - it's rotten - but the crew, that may well be a different matter. We assume that they are all legitimate workers, but some may be refugees escaping from a life of war and poverty - what will be their fate?

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Conakry Roads

by MikeMate, onboard the Esperanza

Five miles off Îles De Loos, I awoke Stan. He'd been sleeping on a pile of folded up cockroach-infested cardboard fish boxes, all bearing the markings of sister ships to the Lian Run No 14. It was my "Cock-a-doodle-doo" that woke him up, on the VHF channel. Stan was one of five crew who'd spent the night on board the pirate trawler as it zigzagged its way to Conakry. According to him, there wasn't even a steering wheel in the wheel house.

"Stan, you don't seem to be slowing down. you're three miles off Île Kassa."

"Oh really?", he replied, "I'd better have a look'n'see what's happening, Mike".

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1 April 2006

Pirates: If you can't beat em? Join em!

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

It's already been a very busy day on board the Esperanza. The pirate fishing campaign has ended, and we're currently sailing southwest, away from land, and away from civilisation. A quick crew-campaign meeting this morning ended with a conclusion of 'to hell with returning to port', and a resolution to head to a remote island where we can take a break from the rigours of environmental campaigning, sunning ourselves on the beach while drinking improbable cocktails.

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31 March 2006

Just a Quickie from Ed

by Ed, onboard the Esperanza

(Ed wrote some of this just before, and right after our visit to Conakry)

Just a quickie. Another week or so has passed on board the Esperanza. We've been very busy - part of this blog was written a week ago but has had to wait due to us being so busy. We've had lots of technical problems and a few some emergencies that have now passed, it seems that it has been just one problem after another! Anyway, I made urgent repairs to all the little wooden greenpeace ships that are stuck with blue tack to the world map in the mess room , so everything should be ok now (Also the whole crew has been working really hard!).

More deck work has continued with several of the crew managing to paint their hair various shades of red and grey and I also managed to hit myself in the head with a hammer, whilst I was balancing precariously on top of some hand rails. I fell off and smashed a light bulb with my shoulder on the way down, I looked up and considered trying to remove the broken bulb from it's socket which would have given me a big electric shock. I instead, I decided that the hammer blow to the head was sufficient pain and suffering for the day, so I went and found Mike the electrician, so that perhaps he would get electrocuted instead of me. (He's used to it)

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Videoblog: Pirate boat arrested in Guinea, West Africa

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

Here's some footage from the arrest of the Lian No.14, which was fishing illegally off the coast of Guinea, West Africa. Includes interviews with Helene Bours of the Environmental Justice Foundation and Greenpeace campaigner Sarah Duthie of Greenpeace.

Bit more serious than our usual vblogs...
Watch Ocean Defenders TV »

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29 March 2006

Arrival in Conakry - during an eclipse

by Sarah, onboard the Esperanza

Almost everyone on board the Esperanza has been looking forward to watching the eclipse. It had been marked on calendars and in diaries almost since the day we left - we were supposed to be able to see an 80% eclipse of the sun. Of course, the other big event that we have all been waiting for is the arrest of a pirate boat. Pretty amazing that somehow these two things collided at the same moment.

After spending the night escorting the Lian Run 14

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Slideshow: Solar Eclipse

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

While Sarah and the others were escorting the Lian Run 14 into Conakry, I remained on board the Esperanza, where I had the chance to photograph the partial eclipse.

I've seen totality before - back in 1999, on the Black Sea coast of Turkey. But back then I didn't have decent camera gear, or any proper filters, so I wasn't able to photograph it. This time, I was more fortunate, and was at least semi-prepared.

I've left the lens flares in - because I think they're quite pretty!

- Dave

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Pirate Ships Scuppered in Lithuania

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

While we've been chasing pirate fishing boats in the sweltering heat of the tropics, our pals in colder latitudes have been freezing their bums off. This morning, in the port of Klaipéda, Lithuania, our activists pushed through chunks of floating ice to paint 'Stop Pirate Fishing' on twelve Georgian, Russian and Cambodian flagged pirate fishing vessels. Lithuania has been flouting EU laws by allowing blacklisted pirate vessels from re-supplying and refuelling in its ports - and we're demanding that the government start paying attention to these laws!

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Happiness: The Chinese zombie ships of West Africa

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

Part 1 of a two-part story: Read Part 2 »

We're in the big African Queen inflatable, cruising alongside an anchored trawler. It's more rust than metal - the ship is rotting away. The foredeck is covered in broken machinery. The fish deck is littered with frayed cables, and the mast lies horizontally, hanging over the starboard side. A large rusty Chinese character hangs on railings above the bridge, facing forward. It reads 'happiness'.

Zizi - our Chinese translator - shouts a greeting. A head pokes out from the accommodation, puzzled at this disturbance. A female voice, out here? He picks his way through the debris to the side of the ship. He's friendly, but a bit perplexed at our presence. Sarah asks questions - Zizi translates. He's the 2nd mate, and says that he's been sitting here on his own for five days, awaiting a new crew, He doesn't know when they'll arrive. The trawler itself has been anchored here, at this spot, for three months.

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Slideshow: The Chinese zombie ships of West Africa

by Pierre & Dave, onboard the Esperanza

Off the coast of West Africa lies a 'graveyard' of rusting ships, abandoned by their owners. The thing is, there's still fishermen living on board. Take a look at the photographs of this sad, strange place. Read more: Happiness: The Chinese zombie ships of West Africa »

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Webcam: Conakry, Guinea

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

(updated at 13:30 Amsterdam time) Morning all - we're currently anchored off Conakry, Guinea, where we're handing over the arrested pirate fishing vessel to the local authorities. The webcam is currently pointing inland, towards the river, so who knows what you might see - we've got a partial solar eclipse happening in the next few minutes!

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Running into No. 14

by Mike Mate, onboard the Esperanza

We were headed in a northeasterly direction when the top of the radar screen started to fill with yellow echoes. The computer calculated their speeds to be 3 knots, regular for fishing, but it was the density that confirmed it. I slowed the Esperanza down, tailing a couple of them at a safe distance of six miles. We were mingling into the echo party, waiting for sunrise and the Tweety bird, which lifted off the green deck precisely two minutes after sunrise.

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Videoblog: Undercover uncovered

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

Sara reveals what we've really been up to in the last few weeks, while our other Sarah explains why we're doing it! It's all about pirates and we're bringing in the authorities! Also, as Tweety, our usual helicopter, is off on holidays, meet its cousin!

Watch the video on Ocean Defenders TV »

Grab the podcast »
More Greenpeace podcasts

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28 March 2006

Pirate Vessel Arrested!

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

Been watching the webcam today? Then you'll noticed the Esperanza alongside a trawler for a couple of hours. Thom had rigged up the webcam on the bridge wing, so we could show the event to the world.

This trawler was the Lian Run No 14 - which our helicopter had spotted in a 'dawn raid' over the ocean, 60 miles from the coast of Guinea. The Chinese trawler had no authorisation to fish in Guinean waters.

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Slideshow: Pirate Vessel Arrested

by Pierre, onboard the Esperanza

Here's a slideshow showing the arrest of the pirate fishing vessel Lian Run 14, 60 miles west of the Guinean coast on March 28th.

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Trawler on the webcam!

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

We've moved the webcam down to the to the starboard side - we've got inspectors and crew on board a fishing vessel at the moment - that's what you can see!

More as it happens...

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27 March 2006

Glowing in the dark

by Nadia, onboard the Esperanza

As Adam was heading out of the bridge, he wished me a nice, quiet watch... I thanked him but I told him that I will prefer a safe and busy watch... Mmmm, I haven't been that well served before. The navigation conditions are now a bit more difficult... it's very dark night without the moon, shallow water and the presence of many canoes (the pirogues) without lights. We need to keep a good look out and be aware of any change of situation. A few minutes after the beginning of my watch, Moff went for his first round. I was then on my own on the bridge. Suddenly, I noticed a big white spot next to the ship, but I could not say what it was.

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Slideshow: Pirate Fishing in West Africa

Posted by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

Check out this slideshow of work by Greenpeace photographers - both on land in Guinea Conakry, and at sea, where pirate ships plunder the food of poor countries.

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Pirates unmasked off Guinea, West Africa

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

Ok, so we've been a bit slow at updating the Defending Oceans weblog the last few days, but we've a good excuse. it's because we've been working undercover off the coast of Guinea, West Africa. It's pretty hard to hide a 72-metre-long blue and white ship with rainbows on the bow, but we did bring the element of surprise.

In the last 10 days, we've witnessed and documented the theft of fish from one of the poorest regions in the world. Now, it's time for us to announce our presence, and to take action. We're working with Hélène and Sam from the Environmental Justice Foundation, who've been on board since the start of the trip. Also joining us are two Guinean enforcement agents, who are authorised to arrest these pirate vessels before they can launder any more of their illegal cargo through Europe's ports.

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24 March 2006

Happy birthday to a friend

by Mike (Sparky), onboard the Esperanza

Hi, my name is Mike; I am the electrician on the Esperanza. A couple of trips ago I met Remon here on the Esperanza. He is a welder and fitter, so we both belong to the engineering department. We got to know each other trip by trip and we are good friends by now. We were lucky again this time and joined the ship together at the same time in Cape Town. Anyway, today it is Remon's 30th birthday so I want to say 'gefeliciteerd met je verjaardag' to my friend!

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22 March 2006

Seamounts, supermarkets, supertrawlers, sharks and the sex lives of fish

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

News, news news. As we've been sailing the seas, lots of interesting ocean-related news stories have been popping up. Got any of your own? Post them as a comment!

Here's one, for a start - researchers exploring the Davidson Seamount, the peak of which 1300m below the Pacific, and 160km off the coast of California, have found a a 'forest' teeming with animal life, which exists in total darkness and near freezing temperatures.

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Videoblog: Mapping the future

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

Good grief - it's time for another nail-biting installment of Ocean Defenders TV. How can one 72-metre vessel turn out such a massive body of televisual media? More to the point, what do maps, politicians and statues of Jesus Christ have in common? We hear some more fascinating ocean facts, and find out why our Sara's in the doghouse.

Watch the video on Ocean Defenders TV »

Grab the podcast »
More Greenpeace podcasts

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21 March 2006

What is the Yellow Thing?

by Adam, onboard the Esperanza

Hi, Adam here. Now that we are busy tracking down pirate fishing boats - as part of Defending our Oceans - I thought that it time I put pen to paper (oh, those were the days) and tell you all how the ocean debris sampling work is going. The bright yellow sampler (affectionately known on board as "The Yellow Thing") has been stowed for a few weeks on top of the heli-hanger: a fantastic location affording it near unparalleled views of the Atlantic Ocean. It will relax there until our activities are more conducive to the sort of rigorous scientific experimentation for which it was commissioned.

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20 March 2006

Morrisons: Britain's worst fish retailer agrees to change its ways

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

UK supermarket chain Morrisons have been naughty - they'd been selling seafood species caught in highly destructive ways, and had a poor sustainable fish policy. But now they've agreed to clean up their act, following this morning's activities in the northern English town of Bradford.

At 7am, UK activists unfurled a banner on the roof of Morrisons' flagship store just 150m from their headquarters, with the message, 'More reasons Not to Shop at Morrisons. No1: Worst Fish Retailer' alongside a picture of a pile of 'bycatch' - the fish and other marine life caught up in fishing nets which are thrown back in to the sea as waste, dead or dying.

In response to his morning's protest, Morrisons has agreed to review its practices.

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Webcam: Shifting our Point of View

by Mike Mate, onboard the Esperanza

I walked onto the bridge as the phone started ringing, the wind howling through the barely open bridge windows. Nadia called out to me from the chart room, "ee'zz fur yu". I looked on the monitor to see who was calling, picked up the receiver and exclaimed, "My God!" To which Thom's voice answered, "I am very high up in the crows nest, how can I help you my son?" "I want to see the world wide web". I replied and the image on the consol screen shifted, I was looking at the naked V-Sat dome facing a strong force six breeze in the Atlantic Ocean.

"Up a bit Thom", I called - and the web camera tilted to take in the horizon behind us and the ship's wake astern. "Now I can see clearly what happened. What about the future?" I asked. Thom's chompers appeared to open up around the screen, the image grew misty and then cleared to reveal a hairy belly-button, a finger followed by a shirt - he wiped the lens of the webcam clear. We're looking forward no more, neither are we in the here and now - it is in retrospection that the world wide web watches. Why have we shifted our point of view?

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19 March 2006

Webcam on the move

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

The Esperanza's webcam has been a bit up and down recently - this is partly because we've been messing around with it! Webcam-addicts will note that it's now facing a different direction - it was facing forward (so you could see where the Esperanza was going) but now it's facing aft (so you can see where we've been. Thom (radio operator ) and I were up in the Crow's Nest this morning, doing some work on the new-view towards the stern. Well, Thom was doing all the work, I was just hanging out, enjoying the height, and taking some pictures with my wide-angle lens.

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17 March 2006

Ocean Defenders TV: It's getting hot!

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

More video! Yes, ladies, gentlemen and others, another installment in a thrilling series. Tune in watch Sara get all hot and bothered - things are warming up as the Esperanza crosses the equator. We meet our first fishing boat, talk about tuna and frolick with dolphins.

View the movie on Ocean Defenders TV »

Grab the podcast (mp4) »

More Greenpeace podcasts »

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16 March 2006

Brazil, and the Convention for Biological Diversity

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

Next week, Brazil will host the Convention on Biological Biodiversity (CBD) - we're calling it 'The Summit for Life on Earth'. Delegates from 188 countries, will be sitting down to discuss a series of crucial issues central to preserving the planet's health - (oceans included!).

Stay tuned for more on the CBD- but in the meantime, check out this reminder to the delegates - photographs of activists unfurling a banner from that iconic statute of Christ in Rio de Janeiro - it reads 'The future of the planet is in your hands'.

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Rostock Update: Fifth pirate now in chains!

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

Here's a quick update to the 'Pirates of Rostock story'. When our activists chained up those four blacklisted fishing vessels on Saturday, the fifth one had already sneaked away, under cover of darkness, towards Poland.

This morning, activists paid a visit to the Carmen, in the port of Swinoujscie, wrapping it in chains and hanging a banner that reads "Stop Pirate Fishing".

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15 March 2006

Hammock Haggling

by Sara, onboard the Esperanza

They talk about the steamy heat of the tropics, and now I know why... it's barely just passed 6 am... the moon is still big and full, the line of the horizon is only just beginning its first flush of pink from the morning sun... and the thermometer on the bridge wing is already reading 29 degrees Celcius. As a famous English tabloid once emblazoned across it's front page - 'Phew! What a Scorcher!'

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Ascension Island - another Diego Garcia?

by Ed and Dave, onboard the Esperanza

Arriving at Ascension Island on Saturday, I saw - with my own eyes - that a few people are intent on controlling the planet and the space around it. Ascension was littered with giant radio masts and giant golf ball-style satellite domes (like the ones you may see at RAF Menwith Hill in Yorkshire) on several of those volcanic peaks and headlands. This military base is owned by the UK and part of it is leased to the United States. The Air Force Space Command 45th Space Wing (nothing to do with Buzz Lightyear) and the Eastern Test Range Launch Program are both supported from the island. From here, they constantly monitor space for 'debris' and it is also a missile and satellite tracking base for the Southern Hemisphere.

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Convenience store flags and the pirates of Rostock

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

Right - we've a bit of an update to the Rostock story. That fleet of illegal trawlers we chained up in the German port are called the Oyra, Ostroe, Okhotino, Olchan and Ostrovets. They used to be called the Eva, Junita, Rosita, Isabella and Carmen, but following their involvement in last year's collapse of fish stocks in the North Atlantic, they rapidly changed their names - in an effort to cover their tracks. Back then, then, the boats registered in Dominica (a tiny island in the Caribbean) - now they are flying the flag of Georgia, the former Soviet state on the Black Sea. These cosmopolitan trawlers really get around, don't they?

In fact, the five vessels have changed their "flag of convenience" three times in the last five years. In 2002, they were flying the Russian flag, but changed to Cyprus, before changing to Dominica. Are you getting dizzy yet?

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Dolphins and Butterflies (how hippy-sounding is that?)

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

Shunning the comfort of bunks, several of the Esperanza's complement took their bedding to the foredeck last night, to sleep under the full moon and stars. Waking up with the sunrise on a calm sea, I felt somewhat privileged, and happy to be on board.

Over coffee, Alex and I watched strange things washing past the bow - they looked like translucent Cornish pasties with a pink seam. Very odd. Turns out they were Portuguese Man-O-War, or Physalia physalia, a kind of siphonophore. Until the heat of the day kicked in, they appeared by the ship every two minutes or so, just drifting by.

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14 March 2006

There ISN'T plenty of fish in the sea

by Dave, Sebas and Helene onboard the Esperanza

We found a tuna boat early this morning - a purse seiner named the Galerna, fishing in an area administrated by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT). The skipper of the Galerna told us that he'd been out there for a month - and had caught nothing. We went on our way - the Galerna was not a pirate vessel. However, the fact that they'd not been catching anything is pretty demonstrative of the state of fishing in the ICCAT area - the fish are running out. This is part of a worsening situation that's taking place in every ocean and sea - even when it's legally. This decline in fish stocks even hardy to track when illegal fishing practices - the pirates - are taken into account.

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Crossing the Line: From Slimy Pollywogs to Trusty Shellbacks

by GoogleFish, onboard the Esperanza

Another languid, hot day on the Esperanza. After luncheon, the crew went about their duties, barely tolerating the dreadful climate.

The mysterious fire drill at 15:30 was drawing near. Sebas and Stan were on a satellite conference call, and had already made their excuses for leaving when Brrrrrrrrrrring Brrrrrriiiiiing. The intermittent fire bell sounded. We trooped out onto the bridge wing, where I found Mike the mate dressed in a rather disturbing red overall, wellingtons and dayglo-orange construction helmet labelled 'visitor'.

Down at the heli-hanger, names were called - were we all here? A strange, giggly tension was in the (hot) air. There was a 'fire' in the engine room, apparently. Mike produced a thermometer, and waved it about officiously.

"The best way to check the seriousness of a fire," he began, "is to check the temperature of it. And the best place is to check the temperature of a fire, is from the highest point".

"Is that science?" I wondered, out loud.

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13 March 2006

Nearing the Equator: Apprehension on Board...

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

From Mike's article, you can tell that tension is rising on board the Esperanza. Hushed secret meetings on corners of the deck. Cardboard tridents found littering the cutlery rack. The model of the Esperanza - usually accompanying the Arctic Sunrise and the Rainbow Warrior on the map of the World - is now stuck to the Messroom clock. Egg timers, tridents, starfish and other stuff have been chalked on the blackboard, as well as references to Neptuna boats.

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Pirate fishing - under threat?

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

Pirate fishing is under threat - yes, folks, it's true. On a bitterly cold Saturday morning, protestors snared four pirate fishing boats in the German port of Rostock. Usually, these blacklisted vessels fly flags of convenience - on Saturday, they were flying banners that read 'Stop pirate fishing' - and were blocked in with floating barrels and chained to the dockside. A fifth trawler escaped to Poland.

According to our information, the trawlers are planning to either plunder the rich fishing waters off the coast of West Africa (i.e. Mauritania) or going farther a field to trawl the depths of the Pacific. Proper controls are lacking in these regions - and pirate fishing is flourishing.

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12 March 2006

The Esperanza Webcam - What are you looking for?

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

Over the last few days, I've had friends, family, land-based colleagues and random Internet people telling me how they've been glued to the Esperanza's webcam, especially when we've been visiting the remote islands St. Helena and Ascension.

The rest of the time, when we're steaming along, there's nothing but the wide-open ocean to see. Still, people are leaving the webcam page running in the background, checking it every so often - just to get an eyeful of the big blue. I've been given heard various reasons...

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The Invisibles

by Mike the Mate, onboard the Esperanza

In the seventeen years he's been sailing with Greenpeace as Radio Operator, Thom has crossed the equator over five times. Standing on the Esperanza's moonlit heli-deck, in a balmy equatorial breeze, he told me of his first 'crossing of the line' on board the Black Pig, while sailing to Moruroa Atoll in 1984. "I've made four more since then", he confided, in a Kentucky chuckle of laughter.

During my first year at sea, sailing on cadet training ships, I crossed the line eight times. Two days after crossing for the eighth time the captain of the Victory, brought the ship close in to Ascension Island. It was New Years Eve (1986/1987), and the ship was destined for Cape Town laden with cargo from the East coast of America. I was asked by the captain to signal 'Happy New Year' to the signal station on the island. The message starts with four short flashes (Morse code for the letter H) on the Aldis lamp. They returned a signal, but not an intelligent one, we reverted to VHF salutations, I don't think they were expecting company that night, so we sailed on by.

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11 March 2006

The Furry Lobster A.K.A the Yeti Crab

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

Let's break away from the Esperanza's journey, for a moment, shall we..? It's time to celebrate the newest and weirdest creature to be discovered in our oceans - the hairy 'lobster'. Now, it's not a euphanism for anything - it's a real living crustacean, living in the South Pacific, and it's so damn strange that a new taxonomic family has been created for it.

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The turtles of Ascension - and dolphins and whales...

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

I woke up this morning... and saw land through my porthole. I could have stayed in my bunk another few minutes but... no, I swung myself out and down. At the sink, I stuck my head under cold water, to rinse the dreams away, then stumbled up three flights of stairs to the bridge.

The Esperanza was ambling along at an easy pace, with the island of Ascension on our port side. Several of the crew were down on the bow. "What's going on?" I asked. "Dolphins", answered Pete.

Down at the bow, several common dolphins were following the Esperanza's bow wave, in a lazy kind of way. Occasionally, one would break the surface, snorting to clear its blowhole.

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Ascension Island on webcam

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

We've just arrived at Ascension island, in the South Atlantic - check out the webcam!

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10 March 2006

A Mate's Day

by Mike (1st mate), onboard the Esperanza

Using the Nautical Almanac's star chart to identify a particularly bright star low on the horizon, I then take an azimuth of it - it's Alioth, in the constellation of Ursa Major (the Big Dipper, or Plough). I've still have to fix the position of the ship celestially - Pete does so every day. The sextant comes out, he plots a running fix of the sun, and then at noon he shoots the meridian passage (which gives the most accurate determination of latitude).

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9 March 2006

How to get the most from your needle gun

by Ed, onboard the Esperanza

The Esperanza guide to using removing rust with a needle-gun. And here's your host, Ed:

Ingredients: Air hoses, 3 needle guns, a cable tie, a rusty deck, tropical sun, brush and pan, bucket, safety glasses, ear protectors, lube oil.

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Even bigger than Belgium. Honestly!

by Sara, onboard the Esperanza

Up with the sun this morning and looking to the horizon for ships, there were none to be seen.

After searching the web for information the other day about St Helena, and realizing that we were more than a thousand miles from land in any direction, it got me thinking about the task we have set ourselves this time - finding pirate fishing boats in a very big sea!

So, I stumbled up to the bridge, clutching my morning tea and pounced on poor old Mike, the first mate as he was coming to the end of his watch. "How big is the area we are searching? You know - if you were to compare it with the size of Belgium, say."

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8 March 2006

Galley Gossip - Ocean Defenders Forum

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

The Ocean Defenders online community is now live - now you can check out the "Galley Gossip," create your own cabin space, add members to your crew and run your own Ocean Defender blog. Yes, really!

Galley Gossip »

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Video: Meet the Crew

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

The Esperanza passes St Helena Island, our first sight of land for a week. Get a crash course in international communications as you meet some of our crew - 31 people, 13 (or more!) languages. Presented, as ever, by the wonderful Sara, armed with her copy of 'Instant Norwegian'.

View the movie on Ocean Defenders TV »

Grab a podcast »

More Greenpeace podcasts »

Read crew profiles »

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7 March 2006

Ropes Round the Prop

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

While we were at St. Helena, urgent work had to be done. A few days ago, while testing our Marine Debris Sampler, a stray rope had become ensnared in the Esperanza's propeller. We stopped at St. Helena to check it out - just to be sure. Alex and Raoul climbed into their scuba gear, and dropped into the warm clear, water, while Ed and Timo stood by in one of the Novi inflatables.

The divers surfaced - and told us that there were other ropes caught up in the propeller. Fair enough, we thought, as they vanished again, with cutting gear and an underwater camera. They cleared the tangle, and brought it to the surface, where it was hauled on board the Esperanza's poop deck. Who would have thought that so much rubbish could be wrapped around the prop? There was a great length of mooring rope and a steel cable - the smidgen of rope that we had lost was only a small part of the mess. Ironically, the mishap with the Marine Debris Sampler actually demonstrated just how much rubbish is in the ocean...

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St. Helena - In the middle of the Atlantic

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

In my couple of years of blogging for Greenpeace, I've had the privilege of seeing far-flung places that I had previously only dreamed of visiting. In 2004, the Esperanza passed close to the lonely islands of St. Kilda and the even lonelier Rockall, both in the North Atlantic. I'd heard about these places, had read about them, and had always wanted to catch a glimpse.

The subtropical island St. Helena in the South Atlantic, is another - it's a place I'd often spied when leafing through an atlas, but never thought I'd see. Well, today I did get a look at St. Helena - easily one of the most isolated places in the world, from the deck of the Esperanza. However, we didn’t get to visit it - we were too busy sorting out the ship's propeller.

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Arriving at St. Helena

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

Hi everyone - we're currently at the remote island of St. Helena, which is shrouded in eerie clouds.
Here's a map of where St. Helena is, in the South Atlantic»

View the webcam »

More later!

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6 March 2006

Lazy Sunday & Face Masks

by Nadia, onboard the Esperanza

Finally at sea - after so long at the port, as I'm used to saying, the ship is made to sail. Is very nice to be in the middle of the ocean enjoying the blue sky and the fresh salty breeze. It's really quiet here not many ships, birds, dolphins or any other life. It was the same on board today. I'm pretty sure if you ask any of the Espy crew which day they enjoy the most the answer will be SUNDAY! After having been working really hard for the past few weeks they finally get a day off at sea. Unfortunately this is not applicable for the mates, but is not a reason to be jealous. I'm the one who have the better view when I'm working... hahah

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South East Trade Winds

by Ed, onboard the Esperanza

So we have now been sailing since Monday night, the sea has been kind, and we have hit the South East Trade Winds, which are helping to push us onward, along with a gentle rolling swell and current. I believe the Arctic Sunrise crew have not been so fortunate and have encountered some rough weather on their passage to Brazil.

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5 March 2006

Day of Rest

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

We've just had our first Sunday at sea. Sundays tend to be a day off for more of the crew - there's no 7:30am wake up call, and breakfast is whenever you decide to make an appearance. There's lots of reading, chatting and dozing done, inbetween the scrumptious meals served up by Miguel and Celeste. This afternoon, strange ethereal music was wafting around the upper decks - it turns out that Mike, 1st Mate on the Esperanza, plays the flute, and was wandering about the ship, serenading us throughout the portholes. Sara, however, is still hiding in the belly of the Esperanza, practicing the saxophone. We're putting her under pressure to be able to perform by the end of the trip.

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Where the flying fishes play

by Sara & Dave, onboard the Esperanza

Saturdays are big cleaning mornings, so after a sweaty hour or so scrubbing the mess room with Pierre, Alex, Sebas and Sam, I escaped up on to the bridge deck to get a blast of clean air and scan the horizon for critters.

We are far from land now, so a bit thin on the critter front... not many seabirds and not even a dolphin for two days now. In fact not much of anything except white grey skies and gunmetal seas.

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Right after my watch

by Marta, onboard the Esperanza

Yes, right after my watch. Which does not mean I am wrong before that!

Today? Today was a funny night watch. Funny and easy. It was not difficult because I managed to sleep at least a couple of hours before, woke up, had a quick shower, got my tea ready, stayed in the lounge a little bit with Måans and Celeste (3rd Engineer & Cook's Assistant), and then talked to Bent and Mike (Chief Engineer and Electrician) on my way up to the bridge.

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4 March 2006

Garbage In, Fish Out

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

Sam, our on board videomaker - who works for the Environmental Justice Foundation, has been a busy boy - and he's roped Sara into presenting the latest installment of Ocean Defenders TV.

So, meet Sara, who is going to tell you all about about nylon threads, turtles, and (arrrrgggg) pirates.
Watch 'Garbage In, Fish Out' on Ocean Defenders TV »

Podcast (MP4): Garbage In, Fish Out »

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2 March 2006

Getting Warmer

by Dave, web editor on board the Esperanza

Hi all - I've been a little bit quiet since we left Cape Town - I've been busy getting my sea legs, and getting this weblog ready for our search for pirate trawlers. So far, the sea conditions have been excellent - a wee bit of rolling, but nothing like the conditions I've seen on other trips, and certainly nothing like the crews of the Esperanza and Arctic Sunrise had to contend with in the Southern Ocean. And unlike the Southern Ocean, it's quite hot here. Every other Greenpeace trip I've done has been in cold - or at least wintry - conditions, so it's pretty strange to be wandering about in a T-shirt and shorts.

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The First Step... Making Pirate Fishing History

by Sebastián, onboard the Esperanza

It's as simple as this: while some fleets keep up their illegal fishing practices, a sustainable use of marine resources will be never be possible. No matter how much fisheries are restricted or regulated, these pirates will not respect the rules. That's what pirate fishing is all about, fishing outside fisheries regulations that are designed to avoid depletion of fisheries resources.

It truly is a global problem. A recent report tried to assess the global value of the fish stolen by these illegal fleets, estimating it at between 4 and 9 billion US$ every year. This is up to 20% of the value of the global fish catch.

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1 March 2006

Sara & The Fluffy Red Dog

by Sara, onboard the Esperanza

Hi, I'm Sara and I am the media coordinator for the Defending Our Oceans campaign. I usually work in our office in Amsterdam, but it is great to be out on the water - it would have felt a little odd to spend over a year campaigning to protect the oceans without actually sailing one at some point.

I woke up early this morning to the most glorious pink and yellow sunrise and as I settled down to work, a huge pod of dolphins bobbed passed, there isn't really a better way to start your day, especially when I know it's been snowing in Amsterdam!!!

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What does the 2nd mate do?

by Nadia, onboard the Esperanza

What does the 2nd mate do on a ship?. So far, I am in charge of things like pilot book correction, list of light and fog correction, radio list correction and charts correction! What for? Mmmm... sometimes I ask that question myself. Things change at sea - just like on land, and to have a safe trip we need do get updated information about positions of buoys, depth, radio frequencies, or any change in the navigation aids and physical characteristics of a port or coast.

Obviously, all this information changes and it's my job to keep them updated. Because the Esperanza sails all around the planet, we have more than 50 books and 500 charts... a lot of work. Those corrections are published every week, and when Mr postman can't find us because we are at sea, the amount of updates get bigger and bigger, especially after a campaign in the Southern ocean! While our deck crew was running up end down to get the ship ready for the departure, I was on the bridge travelling from one country to another with my charts.

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Stolen Fish: Catching someone else's tuna

By Dave on the Esperanza

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28 February 2006

Letting go

by Mike, onboard the Esperanza

All set to go - we had spent the morning in the hold, sorting, sweeping and securing for sea. Moff the doctor, Adam the scientist, and Timo the activist joined the crew in preparations. As we busied ourselves, a press-conference was happening two decks above, in the helicopter hanger. Before an enormous blue back-drop with the 'Defending our Oceans' motif, Sarah from media and Sebastian our Spanish oceans-campaigner addressed newspaper journalists and television cameras. Our drinking water tanks overflowed with fresh water and Kirsten provided the ship with last minute requests such as coriander and rice flour.

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Talk to us - open thread

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

Any questions, words of encouragement, hate mail, love mail, peace mail, etcetera: about pirates, fishing, the oceans, Greenpeace, us, what it's like to work onboard a ship - anything like that, send it our way. Really, we'd love to hear from you. This thread is a public forum.

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25 February 2006

Settling in

by Julie, onboard the Esperanza

It's been more than two weeks since I joined the Esperanza and I thought it would be about time I shared my view about this whole new experience. I now almost feel like a real sailor as there are new people coming on board, and being even more clueless than I am now...

So what is it like being a volunteer on a Greenpeace ship? Coming from the Greenpeace International office and being an urban creature, it did feel extremely strange at first to suddenly be propelled into this new microcosmos. It does still feel strange.

My biggest fear, besides seasickness, which I obviously couldn't have gotten yet, was claustrophobia, both physical and social. The physical part faded away when I had my first tour of the ship. I thank the Russians every single minute of my stay here, walking through the alleyways, for their rigour and spartanism, for this coldness which manages to prevent me from getting claustrophobic. The social part vanished when I started talking to people, almost in a journalistic (or spy, as one may say...) state of mind, and realized the diversity of people composing the crew, the large number of reasons why they devoted their lives to Greenpeace and its ships in particular, the different scales of sociability from one to another...

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24 February 2006

Introducing Pete

by Andrew, onboard the Esperanza

The last time I saw Pete was at this same dock here in Cape Town, but on a different ship. He had just finished three months as captain of the Esperanza, and turned it over to Frank for the Southern Ocean work. Before he headed home, we went together to visit a facsimile of the original Rainbow Warrior.

Real Eyes (a South African production company) had found a fishing vessel that bore a resemblance to the original Rainbow Warrior, and were modifying it for a documentary being shot by French director Peir Boutron.

In this photo, Pete is the short haired guy in the grey shirt. We're in the mess room, which was later converted to Fernando Pereira's cabin for the shoot. The guy with no shirt is Denis Seiglan, one of the art directors. He's explaining the technical details of how they will flood the room during the scene where Fernando is killed.

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Ed's week

by Ed, onboard the Esperanza

Well it's been another busy week, with tidying the ship, trying to sort out what we can keep and also throw away/recycle. There was a moment today when Mike (the first mate) was trying to decide on the ethics and decision regarding the throwing away of an old pillow, as he doesn't like to throw anything away. It was complete with yellow stains, probably from a past seasick incident and maybe some sleepy salivation activity. After a quick discussion, we arrived at the conclusion, that everything is an illusion and everything ultimately becomes recycled in the great scheme of things, so he came to his senses and threw the disgusting thing into the bin on the quayside!

There's also been some painting of decks, cleaning and more cleaning and some magnificent garbage work by fellow deckhands / Marta and Julie, along with a bit more cleaning, loading of equipment and food and fuel for the ship. The Arctic Sunrise is now out of dry dock and is back just astern of us. I have also found time this week, after work, to go out and buy myself a cup and a glass in anticipation of a future shortage of these precious items and, of course, some secret chocolate supplies (the excitement is never ending).

Just to confirm to myself that there is something missing in my life and I am possibly developing Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, I found myself painting showers and the washroom at three o'clock this morning, whilst on watch, ready for the next arrival of people to the ship. I think it will be good to sail again soon.

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23 February 2006

Against the ropes

by Mike, onboard the Esperanza

The last cage of ship's provisions was being lifted on board using the forward stores crane when the ship's agent arrived on the quayside, and handed me a brown paper package tied up in string. It was a small package and light, I held it by the string as I read the postmarks, "from Prague!" Off I went across the decks and down to the Engine room to find 'Mr. Turbocharger'. "I have a shipment from Prague," I announced. Michelle’s face lit up when he saw the Czech Republic stamp. He had waited three days for the aluminium bushes (parts for the turbo-charger) to arrive.

"Mike, can we put a load on the starboard engine?" asked Bent, at seven thirty in the evening, we are ready to test the turbo. I called Eddy and Nadia together to discuss the plan. Andrew, the web editor lent a hand as we ran out three extra stern lines and two additional springs up forward. On the bridge I put a steering pump on and Nadia went down to the steering-flat to visually inspect the position of the rudder against the helm indicator. The gangway came up and the engine rev's increased. The phone rang, Kirsten was telling me about the power failures throughout the country, South Africa’s Nuclear power station is in trouble – lot's of problems.

"You can go ahead Mike," called Bent when the engine had warmed up and reached 750 rpm. I moved the lever forward on the consol, the ship thrust ahead. Weight came onto all the mooring ropes holding us in position, I increased the load on the engine gradually, all the time receiving feed back from aft and watching the springs forward. Slowly I kept increasing the pitch until the forward springs started to sing, they were bar tight, we were just below half ahead on one engine. Still the engineers wanted more load, I pushed the levers a little further, the ropes sounded like a chiropractic back cracking, I called for Nadia to stand clear of the ropes, this was my limit.

"O.K. Mike, we are finished, you can bring her down now", it was a welcome call from the engine room. The test had been a success and the Esperanza may be one knot faster than before. She’s ready to go out to sea, she’s restless and tonight she tugged at her moorings, in an attempt to get under way.

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