16 March 2007

So long and thanks for all the fish...

Dear Ocean Defenders,

Well it's the end of the road, or maybe "end of the shipping lane" would be more appropriate. Together, we've been from Capetown to Hawaii, the Southern Ocean to West Africa, the Azores to the Philippines. We've seen oil spills, toxic pollution, pirates and fishy tuna fishermen. Together we've pressured corporations, governments, banks and the UN itself.

We have shaken the corporate foundations of Japanese Fisheries Agency whaling, confronted the financiers of Lafayette Mine, put bottom trawling on the agenda at the UN, sent thousands of messages to the Icelandic government about commercial whaling, and much much more. We've outlined the need for a global network of marine reserves, and called for stricter enforcement of laws against overfishing.

Ocean Defenders, we salute you!

We'd like to thank you for truly being with us on this amazing journey. Thank you for taking action, sending hundreds of thousands of emails, leaving comments and ideas on our blog, talking to us in the forum, sending your artwork to Art4Oceans and your pictures to Flickr, creating an Ocean Defender myspace page with over 6000 "friends" before we even thought of it (thanks Dougie!), visiting our ships, writing to newspapers, downloading Blame Canada! ringtones, linking to us from your websites and blogs, watching the webcam, and telling your friends and family about the crisis facing our oceans.

The journey might be over, but our work isn't. We will keep working around the world to ensure the health of the world's oceans and the plants, animals and people that depend on them - read on to see how you can too.

Thanks again and all the best,
Adele,
Defending Our Oceans Web Coordinator,
(for Rose, Shane, Sara, Kate, Cristina, Andrew and Team DOO

What happens now?

This blog will be archived and we'll have a whales blog as we head to Tokyo and then to the International Whaling Commission. The Defending Our Oceans website will have the latest oceans news, but will be gradually folded back into our ongoing oceans work - so, although the expedition is over, we will still be Defending Our Oceans.

But wait - we still need your help!

You don't have to stop taking action! You will soon start receiving emails from your local Greenpeace office. If you don't have one you will be placed on our international list. You can also choose to join our International (English language) mailing list here.

And we hope you will all join us on the Defending Whales community website. We have a lot of work to do before the next International Whaling Commission meeting (at the end of May), and could really use your help.

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9 March 2007

Audio slideshow - Daniel Beltra's photographs from the Southern Ocean 2007

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

Throughout the Defending Our Oceans voyage, you've been treated to some fantastic images, as seen through the eyes and cameras of our photographers. The final leg, where the Esperanza went to the Southern Ocean to put a stop to whaling by the Japanese government, didn't turn out quite as expected. This didn't stop our photographer, Daniel Beltra, from capturing some amazing images.



Watch earlier Defending our Oceans audio slideshows by Greenpeace photographers »

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Let's go to Tokyo

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

We're currently alongside in Sydney, Australia, having returned from a drama-filled 42 days at in the Southern Ocean. And there's no rest yet, at least not from the task of putting an end to whaling. After a brief 48-hour stopover to refuel, resupply and recrew, the Esperanza will be off again, this time heading directly for Japan!

As I'm putting this blog together, a press conference is taking places on the quayside. Aussie rockstar (remember Midnight Oil?) and Shadow Minister for Climate Change, Environment and Heritage Peter Garrett joined to give his take on the Australian government's lack of action on the protecting Southern Ocean whales.

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Esperanza in Sydney!

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

Hi folks - after a 7,000 mile voyage, lots of unexpected situations, and 42 days at sea, we're currently alongside in White Bay, Sydney. Earlier, we sailed in past the famous Opera House and Harbour Bridge. Right now, we've got a ship-full of customs and immigration officials, so we haven't yet put foot on terra firma.

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8 March 2007

Last night at sea!

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

It's our last night at sea. Sakyo, Karli, Regine and I are sitting in the campaign office, banging away on our keyboards. It's dark outside, and it's hot inside. It feels like only a few days ago that I was sitting here with thermal gear, reading to walk out on an icy deck. Now, I'm sitting here sweating, and Zeger and Cat have come in from the bridge because of the jasmine fragrance that's wafting around the ship - Regine is the culprit, apparently it's the shampoo she just used, the scent is hanging on the air. Karli, inspired by Regine, has bailed, but I realise there's little point in cooling off under the shower till I'm finished at the keyboard - so here I am.

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Keep the pressure on Denmark!

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

In February, the Japanese government held a meeting in Tokyo to "normalise the IWC. As we reported, it seemed that "normalise" means "business as usual" – in this case, keep catching whales. Denmark was one of the countries participating in the meeting. Because of statements made by the Danish commissioner, the Danish Foreign Affairs Minister is under pressure.

In the near future the minister has to explain the Danish IWC position to parliament - a debate that is desperately needed.

To keep up the pressure we urgently ask you to send an email to the Danish minister for foreign affairs, Per Stig Møller.

Keep the pressure on Denmark! »

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7 March 2007

Ocean Defenders TV: Distress!

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

The last three weeks have not only been about a vessel and a crew in distress. The tragedy in the Southern Ocean has shown how vulnerable the Antarctic environment is. It has been an alarm bell for every one and a warning of what might be if the whaling fleet returns
Watch Ocean Defenders TV »

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6 March 2007

Last birthday of the trip!

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

Hello from the Tasman Sea. As predicted - we're now out of the roaring forties, and into warm, easier seas. It's actually hot on the Esperanza today - for the first time since we left Auckland in January, people have been actually commenting on the heat (but not complaining!). The sun was shining today, and the rough seas are disappearing - no more thunderous banging of the anchor as the ship pitches. After the hatches being battened down for the last week, it seemed odd to be free to stroll down to the heli-hanger without worrying about the cold, or the sea conditions.

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5 March 2007

The last of the Roaring Forties

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

By the time you read this, chances are the Esperanza will have left the Roaring Forties. It's some days since we left the Furious Fifties behind. It's got to be said, those old sailor men weren't mucking around when the coined those names, referring to the Southern lines of latitude. Let's hope the thirties are timid. This is my third time sailing in the Tasman Sea with Greenpeace - both previous trips have been on the Rainbow Warrior - and my current crewmate, Logi. So far, he and I have failed to convince anyone that it was really quite calm on both of our trips - both of which took place in winter!

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It's not fair...

Posted by Sara, on the Esperanza

Well, that's the general consensus on board the Esperanza, as we battle through yet another storm. We thought we had seen off the worst of the Southern Ocean, or as Frank said "the Southern Ocean had taken its last bite out of us" when the sheer power of the waves blew one of our portholes to pieces, in the middle of the night.

It was the storm before the calm, or at least we thought. Yesterday the morning came bright, sunny and FLAT. Deadlights up, portholes flung wide, fresh air and the long-forgotten smell of Earth greeted us all. We pointed inanely at the land in vests, shorts and sandals making stupid "oooh, land!" comments (well, I was!). It looked like it was going to be a good day, AND it was a Sunday so we didn't even have to work.

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3 March 2007

The Power of the Ocean

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

Well, it's goodbye to the coldness and wildness of the Southern Ocean. Gone are the thermals and heavy jackets. Sandals and t-shirts are starting to reappear on board the Esperanza, and the Oocean is almost flat. The evenings are getting shorter - we actually have proper nights again. Emilie just made an announcement over the intercom, "beautiful moon rising on the starboard side!"

Last night, as you'll have seen from the conversation between Andrew and I, the scene was a little different. So different, in fact, that earlier in the day, Penny and Pep had toured all the cabins on the main deck, ensuring that the deadlights - the brass covers for the portholes - were sealed down. It was a good idea...

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The really really big, colossal squid

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

The damaged Japanese whaling factory ship, the Nisshin Maru wasn't the only thing making recent news in the Ross Sea. New Zealand skipper John Bennett, longlining for toothfish in the Ross Sea, managed to hook his second colossal squid there too, on February 22nd. Now wait a moment... most people have heard of the giant squid, but whenever the colossal squid is mentioned, a sceptical eyebrow is raised. "What's next?" is the question, "the Really Ginormous Squid?"

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2 March 2007

Rough weather chatting

Posted by Andrew (from the Amsterdam office):

The Esperanza has a 24/7 internet connection, which (judging from my instant message chat with Dave today) even works in really rough weather. It's a little bizarre and a little cool to by text messaging with someone on their way through some of the most legendarily rough ocean on Earth

Anyway, seems things have gone wobbly, and Dave is having a rough time. The Esperanza is built to take this stuff, and the crew is more than capable of seeing her through it. But things can't be fun on board.

Here's our chat from earlier (IM names have been changed to protect the arguably innocent):

[10:08] Dave: hey andrew
[10:09] Andrew: good morning (more or less)
[10:09] Dave: good evening then!
[10:09] Dave: I'm in the middle of trying to edit a blog for today
[10:09] Dave: but the weather has been f_cking rotten all day
[10:09] Dave: which is making sitting at the computer kinda impossible
[10:09] Andrew: heh heh
[10:10] Dave: so if you or adele have anything else to stick up feel free!
[10:10] Andrew: pretty comfy where Im sitting
[10:10] Dave: gonna post something in a while if i can
[10:10] Andrew: I'll take a look in a while and post something if yours doesnt make it
[10:10] Dave: i'm currently jammed, standing up between the wall and the office table

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Inky black splendour

Posted by Celeste, on the Esperanza

This is a little something Celeste wrote a few days ago, about her experiences of the Ross Sea last weekend...

Saturday goes down as one of the most phenomenal days of my life. As you know, the pack ice was moving towards us at an incredible rate and when we awoke on Saturday morning there it was. Captain Frank and his competent mates decided to take the ship through the ice. It makes the largest crunching and grinding noises that you can ever believe and actually also knocks the ship around a bit. It is also just so incredibly beautiful to look at - forget the bergs - it's the pack ice that I love.

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1 March 2007

International Polar Year

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

The Esperanza is still rolling in rough weather - there's a few queasy folk and more than one bleary eye this morning. We're still heading north, and the whaling fleet are still near us.

The air and sea temperature is starting to warm up, and after spending several weeks in Antarctic waters, it's a little ironic that I'm going to tell you about International Polar Year. Especially considering we're now 600 miles north of the Antarctic Circle.

Today marks the beginning of IYP, a "large scientific programme focused on the Arctic and the Antarctic from March 2007 to March 2009". The year is two years "long" in order to cover both Antarctic and Arctic. The idea is to have a collaborative, international effort combining the efforts of countries around the world in sharing costs to coordinate scientific experiments.

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28 February 2007

The Japanese whaling fleet crosses the line

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

The Esperanza just escorted the Japanese whaling fleet, including the factory ship Nisshin Maru, over the 60° latitude line - this means that they've now officially left Antarctic waters, and the northernmost limit of where their whaling takes place.

No more Southern Ocean whales will die from grenade-tipped harpoons this season, and the threat to the Antarctic environment by the fire-damaged Nisshin Maru has now been averted. Earlier today, the fleet pushed its speed up to 12 knots, and started steaming for home.

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27 February 2007

New Internationalist: Defending Our Oceans

From Adele, in the Stockholm office

And now for something completely different... While we wait with bated breath to see the outcome of the Nisshin Maru saga, I just wanted to prod you all gently to check out the very excellent Defending Our Oceans site that New Internationalist magazine has put together. No, this wasn't some expensive sponsorship deal, basically the co-editor was so inspired he thought this was an important issue to feature in the magazine. He says:

"New Internationalist usually takes care not to identify with any other organizations. But this is a bit different. Action is urgently needed. The magazine will have done one useful thing if it encourages you to sign up to the Greenpeace campaign."

I never thought I'd see a mainstream magazine with "More Marine Reserves Now!" on the cover, but hooray, it's happened!

Check out the special features here.

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Hourglass dolphin time

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

We've long left behind the serene beauty of the Ross Sea, and are now amidst the wildness of the Southern Ocean. Conditions are a little wilder than last night - as the Esperanza rolls from port to starboard and back, a few untethered items have been seen skating by. Sara is already forgoing her chair, preferring to work towards her "thighs of steel" by standing up at her desk.

Not much else has changed since yesterday - the Nisshin Maru and the rest of the whaling fleet are still strung out across the ocean, still ambling along at seven or eight knots. There's no sign of the fleet returning to whaling, we're pleased to see. Sorry, we're very pleased to see. We're escorting them out of the area, and we never want them back in the Southern Ocean again.

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Post webcam shots on flickr!

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

For all the webcam obsessives and flickr fans: You can now upload grabs from the webcam to a flickr group called Webcam Esperanza, started by Wavemaker, herself an occasional Esperanza web editor.

The idea is that whenever any of you Ocean Defenders spot something cool in the webcam, you can upload it to this flickr group, and share it with other people! Otherwise, the moment could be gone - forever. Hopefully there'll be some of the whaling fleet visible...

Why didn't we think of this before?

So, get right-clickin'...

The Esperanza's webcam »
Visit the Esperanza webcam pool »

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Download Southern Ocean wallpaper for your desktop

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

Not that were't the type to wallow in honorifics, but the wonderful Daniel and the lovely Elaine have created a few desktop-wallpaper-type things for your computer.

And you can download them from here »

A'int we nice?

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26 February 2007

So, killer whales do attack human beings, don't they?

Posted by Nienke, on the Esperanza

"So, killer whales do attack human beings, don't they?"

Headphones on, drifting in a small inflatable, protected by a thin layer of rubber from an unimaginable amount of icy-water. With killer whales in it, very nearby. "I will protect you", Jetske tells me. I'm not convinced. Even if she was tall and heavy. How big is an orca? Up to nine metres. Weight? What was it... born 150kg in weight, an adult male weighs 5600kg. And then like... ten of them? Organized, intelligent, can easy adapt to its environment, so its habitat is all over the world's oceans. So, Jetske's weight, what would it be? Approximately 55kg? It doesn't sound very promising for us.

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Heading North with the Nisshin Maru

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

It's a fairly slack Southern Ocean this evening. We're out of the Ross Sea now, and heading north, with the whaling fleet strung out a mile or two away on our port side. They took off on Saturday night at a great rate - up to 14 knots. Now they're ambling along at 7 knots.

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25 February 2007

Media in a tangle

Posted by captain Karli, on the good ship Ezmerelda

One of the things that has struck me since we have been here, in the far reaches of the Southern Ocean, is just how confused the story gets by the time it gets back to land, and how many different versions there can be of the same story.

Some of this can be traced back to the tales being told by people who have a vested interest in the whaling industry, as Dave and Sara explained the other day in their somewhat more amusing blog, Sorry Mr. Inwood, could you say that again?. While it's definitely the game of the Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR) and their hired help to portray this whole situation as just a small glitch in their whaling season, in reality, and for those actually onboard the ships down here, it is not. There is a body on board a ship, on the way back to Japan as evidence of that.

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Meet the Japanese Fleet Fleet - the Nisshin Maru and its friends

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

With all the recent media coverage about the Japanese whaling fleet, it's easy to get confused about which whaling ship is which. So we've put together this useful guide. The Lovely Elaine (as she is now universally known) has put together a fantastic guide to the Japanese Government's whaling fleet currently in the Southern Ocean.

Don't be fooled by the word "RESEARCH" that's plastered over their vessels - that's just part of the "scientific whaling" whitewash used by the Institute of Cetacean Research. In reality, the Japanese government is pushing for a return to commercial whaling - and the "scientific whaling" fleet is at the vanguard of this push - they had planned to kill 945 whales this year for "research" purposes - then sell the meat.

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24 February 2007

Nisshin Maru to finally leave the Southern Ocean (and don't come back!)

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

At around 17:30 today, the expedition leader of the Japanese government's whaling fleet radioed, informing us that the Nisshin Maru - disabled nine days ago by fire - plans to start sailing in three hours. He also said that the whole fleet was currently being re-fuelled, in preparation for departure.

This is a relief - after nine long days, the whaling fleet is finally leaving the Ross Sea, and the unsullied environment of the Southern Ocean, and we're ready to escort the fleet out of Antarctic waters.

We're pretty unimpressed with how Japanese government officials in Tokyo - and their PR spindoctor in New Zealand - have done their damndest to trivialise the extent of what has truly been a serious situation here in the Ross Sea. Since the fire last Thursday, they've failed to show transparency - either with the rescue authorities or other governments, about the extent of the fire, as well as the risks both to human life and the Antarctic environment. They even publicly stated - a little too quickly - that they hoped to just keep on whaling!

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Nisshin Maru on the move

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

About an hour ago, the Nisshin Maru separated from the two ships she's been tethered to - the Oriental Bluebird and the Yushin Maru No.2. She steamed about 2 miles at about 12 knots, then stopped again, as has the whole fleet. Let's hope that with the Nisshin Maru moving under her own power, this is a sign that the whaling fleet is ready to leave. If it is, we believe that this should be the last time - ever - that the Japanese whaling fleet comes to the Southern Ocean.

P.S. - if the webcam gives the impression that the Nisshin Maru is moving, bear in mind that the Esperanza might be moving relative to it, and we might be moving the web camera to keep the Nisshin Maru in frame.

- Dave

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23 February 2007

And here with the weather...

Posted by Dave

And after the weather forecast, we have sports. Seriously though, the weather is on the downturn - the barometer has been at around 980 for several days, so no surprises there. The sky is grey, and overcast, with snow whipping horizontally across the deck. On board the Esperanza, the mood is good - in no small part helped by the delicious food from our cooks, Isha and Celeste.

It's now heading for nine days since the fire broke out on board the Nisshin Maru. By tomorrow morning, we'll have been with it for a week.

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The icy Earth from above

Posted by Sara, on the Esperanza

Every day since we made contact with the Nisshin Maru, our helicopter Tweety lifts off from the deck of the Esperanza and buzzes off into the distance to carry out an ice survey for us and for the disabled Japanese whaling fleet. Within seconds she is little more than a cheery red dot in the Antarctic sky.

Firstly, booted and survival-suited, it took a hefty shove from Hughie to even get me into Tweety, a not very dignified beginning, but our survival suits aren't built for agile movement - and more to the point neither am I!

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Letter to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice

Posted by Melanie, on the Esperanza

The U.S. is a signatory to the treaty that protects Antarctica, yet the U.S. State Department said today that it would leave the matter of the Nisshin Maru to the government of New Zealand. Melanie, our onboard U.S. campaigner on board, has put together this letter to send to the Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Are you from the U.S? Then send it? If not - maybe sent it anyway!

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22 February 2007

The daily ice report

Posted by Dave

The conditions in the Ross Sea are pretty good at the moment - dead calm but overcast and very cold. Our position didn't change majorly in the last 24 hours - just six miles to the north east, but Tweety was sent up again to check the ice. Right now, the ice is 10 miles to the east, with a thick edge, open behind, and then after 15 miles it starts getting heavy again. According to Zeger, the water is starting to freeze, and there's some fresh, small bits of ice in the water.

There wasn't much news from the Nisshin Maru today, despite what the ICR's Glenn Inwood would have you believe. They are still preparing the ship's accomodation, and still hope to leave using the ship's own engines.

More as we have it...

- Dave

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Ocean Defenders TV: Enough is Enough

Posted by Dave

Antarctica is the responsibility of all. Whaling in the Antarctic is a threat to all. This video says it all...

Watch Ocean Defenders TV »

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Sorry Mr. Inwood, could you say that again?

Posted by Dave and Sara, on the Esperanza

The beauty of bearing witness - one of Greenpeace's core principles - is that you can provide window onto the reality of what is right in front of you. In the last week, the difference between what we see and hear, here in the Ross Sea, and what we are "told" from land could not have been more stark.

Yesterday, Sakyo spoke to the fleet's expedition leader via radio, and asked him if the fleet were starting whaling again, that he'd heard this in the media. The reply was that there was still a lot of work to be done on the ship. They have managed to start the main engine, but the winch is broken down - due to oil pressure trouble, and the factory deck of the ship is taken apart. They have told us that they want to get across the line of 60 degrees south, and head north to Japan as soon as possible.

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Slideshow: Southern Beauty

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

Here's a slideshow showing some of the nature and seascapes of the Southern Ocean. Some of these images, like the southern rightwhale dolphin, were shot north of the Antarctic Convergence, while others are very obviously in the depths of the Antarctic. The orca was seen within sight of the Nisshin Maru - so this should give you some idea of what may be under environmental threat in these waters.

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21 February 2007

Listening to what whales say

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

Earlier on this expedition, we were getting some nasty comments posted to the blog about our alleged "sightseeing". To be honest, here in the Southern Ocean, it seems that every time you glance outside a porthole, something beautiful floats, flies or swims by. But there's plenty more going on below the surface too. Where were we earlier today, the Ross Sea was 400m deep down below - and you can bet, there's plenty happening down there too.

One of the advantages of being stuck here in the Ross Sea alongside the crippled Nisshin Maru is that it's given us some opportunities for research work. Yesterday, during a radio conversation with the whaling fleet, Sakyo mentioned that we had our boats in the water. The reply from the whaling fleet was, "look out for blue whales - there's some around". As blue whales are a protected species, we're assuming the fleet aren't interested in hunting them at this moment in time, but we found it to be rather amusing to be getting whale watching advice, given the source. It's not too late to turn the Nisshin Maru into a whale watching vessel...

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Icing In

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

Today, the weather conditions have been more or less the same - but we had sunshine, which warmed things up a bit on deck. The ice, however, is on the move. Where we we were yesterday is now pretty iced up. The whaling fleet drifted 18 miles southovernight, which is kind of the wrong direction, from the point of view of escaping the Ross Sea. At 2000 hours, we were 13 miles west of where were 24 hours ago... and 13 miles closer to the Antarctic continent. To our east, the huge finger of ice is looming, moving ever northward. It really is time to get out the Nisshin Maru out of here!

- Dave

More on sea ice »
Photo and explanations of different sea ice states »

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20 February 2007

Ocean Defenders TV: Nisshin Maru report

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

Sara, our on board media officer, reports on the situation around the Nisshin Maru, and speaks to our captain, Frank, to our helicopter pilot, Hughie and to our campaigners Melanie and Karl, about the deteriorating ice situation in the Ross Sea, and the environmental threat caused by the disabled whaling factory ship.

Watch Ocean Defenders TV »

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The Japanese government is playing Russian Roulette with the Antarctic

Posted by Melanie, on the Esperanza

This morning at 5:40am marked five days since the Nisshin Maru first sent out a mayday distress call. Since then, the ship has been sitting here, disabled, in the Ross Sea. We've has been on-scene with the Nisshin Maru for over three days to offer assistance, including towing the crippled whaling vessel north, out of the Antarctic. All of our offers to tow the vessel to safety have been refused by the Japanese authorities in Tokyo. We have been told that the whaling fleet will use its own vessels to tow the Nisshin Maru north, however, the Esperanza still remains the best-equipped ship for the job.

It's not just Greenpeace that's anxious for the Nisshin Maru to get a move on out of here. The New Zealand government has gone well beyond the bounds of normal diplomatic language to make the point. New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark is clearly losing patience and said to the Japanese government earlier this week: "My advice is if you can't see a way of getting the boat out of there without some help from Greenpeace or from somebody else, the world is going to be very upset if there is a spill in that area."

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Where is the Nisshin Maru?

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

Over the last few days and weeks, we've been talking about mysterious places like the "Ross Sea" and the "Southern Ocean". These places are a long way from anywhere, so it's not surprising that many people don't have a great understanding of Antarctic geography. The lovely Elaine, currently in Sydney, has knocked together this ultra-cool interactive map showing just where the Nisshin Maru, the whaling fleet and the Esperanza are right now.

:

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19 February 2007

The key to ending whaling

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

Jun Hoshikawa, a Japanese writer and translator, has published over 60 books. He took up the post as Executive Director for Greenpeace Japan 14 months ago. I've just been reading his explanation of what he believes to be the key to finally ending whaling: by changing the perceptions of the people of Japan.

"When I arrived at Greenpeace Japan a little over one year ago, my take on stopping the Japanese government's whaling program was that it is a lost cause and impossible to argue against - despite the fact I had been opposed to whaling since the issue was raised in the early 1970s."

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Japan, please accept the our offer to tow the Nisshin Maru!

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

As you know, the Esperanza is currently standing by the Japanese whaling factory ship Nisshin Maru, which was last week crippled by an accidental fire. It's currently without engine power in the Ross Sea, Antarctica. Oil and fuel on board the Nisshin Maru presents an immediate and unacceptable risk to the pristine Antarctic environment - and the ice and weather are closing in.

We've offered to tow the Nisshin Maru to safety. The Esperanza was constructed as a fire-fighting vessel and has towing capabilities. Captain Frank has ten years experience on a salvage tug.

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Still standing by but the clock is ticking

Posted by Melanie, on the Esperanza

It's now Monday afternoon and we've been with the Nisshin Maru for more than two days. Luckily the weather is holding - it's calm by Southern Ocean standards with light winds, relatively calm seas and this morning there was even a patch of blue sky here and there. But we are still at 73 degrees south latitude and it is getting late into February, which means the clock is ticking and at some point soon, this area will start freezing over in earnest.

There's pack ice 14 miles to the east of us and 20 miles to the southwest of us, and things can change so quickly here in terms of temperature and wind that ice conditions can change radically in a matter of hours.

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Chilly Monday on the Ross Sea

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

Well, it's a chilly Monday morning here in the Ross Sea. The Esperanza is still standing by the broken-down Nisshin Maru, which was disabled by fire on Thursday. The Nisshin Maru drifted 31 nautical miles north overnight - away from the ice pack, but no farther away from the pristine west coast of the Ross Sea.

The other six ships in the whaling fleet are also here - the factory ship, the re-supply and refueling vessel Oriental Bluebird and three catcher boats. The two survey/sighting vessels, including the Kaiko Maru (the ship which issued a recent distress call) arrived early yesterday. On Saturday, the US Coast Guard vessel Polar Sea stopped by very briefly, but hasn't been seen since.

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18 February 2007

Arriving on scene with the whaling fleet

Posted by Melanie, on the Esperanza

At Saturday morning at 7am, I was in the bridge with my morning coffee, when third mate Zeger sighted through binoculars the Nisshin Maru and other vessels from the whaling fleet. As we got closer, we saw that the re-supply and re-fueling vessel Oriental bluebird was on one side of the disabled Nisshin Maru, while one of the catcher boats (the vessels with the harpoons the actually kill the whales) was on the other side.

Two other catcher boats were hovering near the Nisshin Maru. On our stern was the US Coast Guard icebreaker Polar Sea. The Polar Sea was doing just as we were: getting closer to the Nisshin Maru to assess the situation.

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17 February 2007

Condolences from the Esperanza

Posted by the crew of the Esperanza

We received a radio call this afternoon from the Yushin Maru. They told us that the body of the missing crewman, 27-year-old Kazutaka Makita had been recovered.

The crew of the Esperanza would like to offer our sympathies to Kazutaka Makita's wife and children, his family and friends, and to the crew of the Nisshin Maru. Our thoughts are with them all.

- The crew of the Esperanza

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16 February 2007

Esperanza arrives at the crippled Nisshin Maru

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

We sighted the Japanese government's whaling factory ship Nisshin Maru at about 07.00 (New Zealand daylight time) this morning. Two ships - the re-supply and re-fuelling vessel Oriental Bluebird and one of the harpoon, or catcher boats the Yushin Maru - are tied either side of the Nisshin Maru. Nearby are two more catcher boats. Standing off, some distance away is the US Coast Guard icebreaker Polar Sea - The Yushin Maru asked us for assistance in translating between them and the Polar Sea.

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Esperanza ready to tow the Nisshin Maru out of danger - and prevent environmental disaster

Posted by the crew of the Esperanza

Right now, the Esperanza is less than 24 hours sailing from the disabled whaling factory ship, Nisshin Maru. We've made a commitment to the fleet that we will assist the crew in any way possible, and make an environmental impact assessment if needed. One crewmember of the Nisshin Maru is still missing and it's reported in the media that the ship may be carrying approximately 1,000 tons of oil. The Nisshin Maru is also, apparently less than 100 nautical miles from the largest Adelie penguin colony in the world.

The Fisheries Agency of Japan has already refused help from us, labelling us "terrorists" - but the Esperanza is still continuing towards the stricken vessel.

The thing is - our first thoughts are for the missing crewman, as well as the rest of the people on board. We don't think that this is any time be to playing politics from behind a desk in Tokyo. We've got a human tragedy and a potential environmental disaster on our hands, so we have a moral obligation to act. Plus, the Japanese government has a legal obligation, under the Antarctic Treaty, for the Nisshin Maru to accept our help.

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15 February 2007

Distress call from the Nisshin Maru

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

The first thoughts of all of us on the Esperanza is for the crew of the Japanese whaling factory ship Nisshin Maru. We hope that news reports that one crew member is missing are incorrect and he or she is found safe and well.

At approximately 05.45 New Zealand time (NZDT) the Esperanza responded to a distress call from the Nisshin Maru.

We contacted the New Zealand Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC), who gave the nature of the distress as a fire/explosion, and requested our assistance. We confirmed that the Esperanza would assist.

At 07.40 NZDT, New Zealand MRCC informed the Esperanza that we were no longer required. We have no details of the incident or what caused it.

We remain ready to assist with the emergency.

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What a special Valentine's day!

Posted by Sakyo, on the Esperanza

© Greenpeace / Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert

I'm happy to see that people all around the world expressed their love for Japan - my country, on Valentines day. However, the important thing is that Japanese people who received this message also should consider the message that 'whaling breaks our heart'

From my experience, growing up in Tokyo for 27 years, I've often heard "whaling is part of our culture, foreigners are trying to ruin our culture". Whenever anti-whaling voices are heard coming from outside of Japan, many Japanese people condemn them as being against our culture. But when I look at the reality of whaling in the Southern Ocean, it's very far from the version I've heard. If you actually study Japanese history, whaling in the Southern Ocean is not a traditional part of our culture.

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14 February 2007

Valentines Day: We love Japan - but whaling breaks our hearts

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

© Greenpeace/ Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert

Happy Valentines day from the crew of the Esperanza! Here here in the Southern Ocean it's been Valentine's Day for nearly 22 hours. In othe parts of the world, people are just waking up to the one day of the year dedicated to love. And today, in 28 different countries around the world, activists are taking to the streets to send a Valentine's Day message of love to Japan - but demanding the Japanese government puts an end to whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.

It's already Valentine's Day in Tokyo too - where the "International Whaling Comission Normalization Meeting", is being held by the Japan government, supported by pro-whaling nations. A big valentine card card appeared outside, saying "Normalization Means Protection, Not Whaling" and activists presented St. Valentines Day whale-shaped chocolates to the pro-whaling delegates attending the meeting. Nice!

© Greenpeace/ Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert

There's been lots more happening - in Fiji, Australia and New Zealand, and even Ecuador, which had an early Valentines Day! Check out the photographs from St. Valentines Day whale activities around the world! »

Save some whales now!
Whale Love Wagon »

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13 February 2007

Peace versus violence

Posted by Isha, on the Esperanza

Isha sent me this blog yesterday. As I was editing reading it, the distress call came from the Kaiko Maru. When a distress call comes in a location as harsh as the Southern Ocean, you can't help but expect the worst. Fortunately, after the second distress call in a week, we didn't find ourselves having to search for people in the icy Antarctic waters. Isha's blog was certainly a calming influence while we waited for news. - Dave

In this world that we live in, violence is increasingly becoming the widest spoken language. The heart is silenced with voices of anger, frustration and hate. The heart functions on subtle vibrations... the vibrations of nature are the subtlest. Do we ever hear a flower bloom or leaves fall?

Violence begets nothing... it spreads only more pain and hate - only peace and love bring strength and tolerance, and this is what the heart of this planet is asking of us, and so few speak this language these days.

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Whaling Timeline

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

This is a chronology of whaling, adapted from "The Whaling Season: An Inside Account of the Struggle to Stop Commercial Whaling" by Kieran Mulvaney (Island Press, 2003). I read this excellent book recently, before I came on board. There's currently three copies doing the rounds of the Esperanza. Kieran was on board several Greenpeace anti-whaling expeditions, and manages to pack his personal experiences, detailed expedition logs and a detailed explanation of the complex mess that is whaling, as well as untangling the intricacies of the International Whaling Commission. This table is from the appendices of the The Whaling Season:

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Look in the mirror first

Posted by Sara, on the Esperanza

Okay, I have held back for long enough now. Greenpeace has made it very clear for years that we will not cooperate with Sea Shepherd because we don't agree with the tactics they employ. That is a position based on long held principles. We do not publicly criticize Sea Shepherd nor do we intend to, because that is also a principle we hold - we simply say that our focus is on the whaling issue and how to stop it, in the Southern Ocean, in the political arena and most importantly in Japan. Of course, not engaging in a slanging match always leaves one party open to more and more criticism. So be it. I have broad shoulders and if you want to criticise then go ahead. But look in the mirror first.

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12 February 2007

At the whaler's club

By Shane, in Tokyo to attend the IWC's "Normalisation" meeting

Here I am in Japan to attend a meeting organised by the Japanese Government. Over recent years, they have increasingly talked about the need for 'normalisation' of the International Whaling Commission (IWC). This is basically code for a return to commercial whaling. So this meeting is really about commercialisation, not normalisation.

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"Normalisation" isn't good for whales

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

This week the Japanese government will host a meeting of predominately pro-whaling International Whaling Commission (IWC) members in Tokyo.

The stated purpose of this meeting - which isn't part of the official Commission agenda, is to "normalize" the IWC. Almost without exception, pro-conservation members of the IWC have agreed not to attend this meeting, because it is expected that the Japanese government will use the occasion to claim support for a resumption of commercial whaling. Not a welcome thought.

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We condemn violence in the Southern Ocean

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

This afternoon the Esperanza received a distress call from the Japanese whaling fleet's unarmed sighting vessel, the Kaiko Maru.

The Esperanza offered immediate assistance, heading at full speed to their position.

According to the Rescue Coordination Centre of New Zealand, first reports stated the Kaiko Maru was "under attack." Later reports claimed a collision between the Sea Shepherd vessel Robert Hunter and the Kaiko Maru, with the Robert Hunter receiving a hole in the hull above the water line and the Kaiko Maru suffering unspecified damage to its propeller.

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11 February 2007

Spread the word and end whaling now

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

We're down here in the Southern Ocean, doing our bit to stop whales from being killed -but we need your help. While it's important to stop individual whales from being killed, we really need whaling to end forever.

We need you guys to help us. We need you to help us communicate that whaling is still going on - but that it's possible to end it. Got a campaign idea? Post it on whales.greenpeace.org, and run your own online campaign!

But there's more...

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10 February 2007

Sightseeing?

Posted by Hughie, on the Esperanza

Sightseeing? Yes, and some of the sights we see aren't too nice, but whilst we are enroute to intercept the Japanese whaling fleet, we document these sights. What they depict is global changes that will affect every living thing on this planet - including you.

During the transit we utilise this time by gathering other information and compiling reports to people involved in other matter than just whaling.

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It happened again

Posted by Daniel, on the Esperanza

It happened again, I'm a very lucky guy.

Last night I won 2nd prize in Contemporary Issues at the 2007 World Press Photo. It's the most prestigious award for photojournalists. This year professional photographers presented over 78,000 images.

Last year I got a World Press award while I was working in the Amazon, but this year I am on a Greenpeace ship near Antarctica. At least here I can receive emails and phone calls, in the Amazon I was out of reach for several days while the organization of the World Press tried to locate me.

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9 February 2007

Whaling: The International Situation

Posted by Karli, on the Esperanza

Almost every single person on this ship comes from a country that says they are opposed to whaling. But saying you are opposed to whaling, and then doing something about it are two different things; there is a whole spectrum of action and inaction that lies between. So, while we are here amongst the icebergs of the Southern Ocean, preparing to take direct action to save whales from Japanese Government's whaling fleet's deadly harpoons... what is going on in the rest of the world?

From one International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting to the next, the Japanese government works away at recruiting new countries to vote pro-whaling... However, although the IWC started life as an organisation that represented fifteen whaling nations in the divvying up of the oceans' whales and tried to keep things from getting too far out of hand - the IWC has now changed. Over time, nations that wanted to see whales protected began joining, giving strength and a voice for the whales. Those years saw the introduction of the moratorium on commercial whaling and the establishment of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. But is that momentum now slipping away, and the majority eroding?

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The Esperanza in the Ice

Posted by Maaike, on the Esperanza

Yesterday, my afternoon watch (I'm on watch from 1200 till 1600 hours and then again from 0000 till 0400 hr) was an interesting one. When I got on the bridge, we were surrounded by ice. Not icebergs, but small bits of ice that you can sail through at slow speed. In circumstances like these you go to hand steering, because the autopilot won't react quick enough.

Hand steering is nice, because you feel much better what the Esperanza does and how it reacts (or not, at slow speed). Also, you change speed all time to adjust to the amount of ice, since some areas the ice is more packed then other areas. Some of the bigger bits that you should avoid, you can't avoid in time. That makes noise and it makes the ship shiver, but it doesn't do any damage (as long as your speed isn't too much of course). The captain, Frank, was also on the bridge while sailing through the ice, so I could learn about the conditions. This wasn't extreme yet, but already you can anticipate and try to find a path to sail through. No pressure though, because there was no chance of getting stuck here. Even if the wind increased very rapidly, we would have been able to be get out of the ice soon enough. It was a very nice experience.

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Missing Sea Shepherd Activists Found

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

Update: 04:40 CET 16:40 NZ Good news - the missing Sea Shepherd people have been rescued. Now we're no longer steaming to help with the rescue, we will return to our original mission - to find and stop the Japanese fleet from whaling.

Earlier:
Some serious news - two crew from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ships have been reported missing in the Southern Ocean, in foggy conditions. Sea Shepherd had found the Japanese whaling fleet earlier today, near the Balleny Islands.

Our primary concern - and hope - is that the two missing people will be found safe and well - and as quickly as possible. We're still well out of range, about a days sail away, but we're currently steaming towards to co-ordinates given to us by the Sea Shepherd ship, Robert Hunter.

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8 February 2007

The "Isle of the Dead" Iceberg

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

We spent today pushing through more of the Southern Ocean's ice in our search for the whaling fleet. The sea looks very odd here - dead calm, and because it's so close to freezing, it has a slick, oily consistency. The loose ice that floats almost stationery bumps against the Esperanza's hull as we push forward. Sitting in the office, you can hear the crunch and the impact as another piece of ice gets pulled aside.

In mid-afternoon, a very strange looking iceberg appears on the horizon. Even as it was still in the distance, it instantly reminded me of two paintings by Swiss artists; Isle of the Dead by Arnold Böcklin, and one called Hommage a Bocklin by H.R. Giger (the guy who designed Alien).

The 'berg was massive colosseum with walls and columns of stunning blue and white ice rising up out of a massive base. Inside, the greeny-blue water was thrashing around, though the overall structure barely seemed to be moving.

It was quite simply one of the most amazing things I've ever seen.

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ODTV: Heading South

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

The temperature drops and the anticipation rises as the Esperanza makes her way to the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.Ok, it's a little late as we're already now in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary - but meet Hernan, Hughie, and Tweety! Watch Ocean Defenders TV »

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Now is not the time to whale watch

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7 February 2007

Ice

Posted by Melanie, on the Esperanza

Last night at around 11pm, the ship's engines were turned off to avoid having to navigate through ice at night. We spent the night quietly rocking back and forth, and as a result, I had my best night of sleep since leaving Auckland. I didn't wake up or move all night long, as evidenced by the neatness of the bedding when I woke up in the morning. I don't think I moved at all, which was a lovely change from the tossing, turning and rolling around in my bunk that usually takes place.

This morning when I got up, I could see the ice edge about half a mile from the ship. For me, that's better than coffee or anything else for jump starting a morning. Nothing (except for an ice sheet or a high latitude glacier) can beat the polar pack ice. I've been obsessed with it (and all things Arctic) since my first trip to the Alaskan arctic on the Arctic Sunrise in 1997. Since then I've buried my nose in books, research papers, news articles and just about anything I can find about the Arctic, as well as the people who have explored both poles in the past few centuries. It's fascinating stuff, and it can capture your imagination like nothing else. Up until now my obsession has focused on the Arctic since I'd traveled there, worked there and had a first hand "relationship" with it. I never thought I'd ever make it to this part of the world. Now I can feel my obsession shifting to include all things Antarctic, which means a trip to the book store when I get home and another pile of polar books amassing next to the bed.

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Birthday Bergs

Posted by Karli, on the Esperanza

Last year I celebrated my birthday with friends and family with a sunny barbecue beside a river in Golden Bay, New Zealand. This year I celebrated it with the Greenpeace family "Esperanza" in the Southern Ocean. What a world away! I woke to the scraping and crunching of the ship moving slowly through pack ice, looking out the porthole to see that the fiesty sea of the past week had been replaced by the most tranquil surface imaginable.

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Penguins Past the Porthole

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

This morning's wake up call interrupts a deep deep pit of sleep. I don't know even who did the wake up call, but they mention something about "ice".

"Ice? What are they talking about? It's summer in New Zealand. Oh hang on. It's winter in Ireland. Wait... where am I?"

I fight my way to the surface, open my eyes. Sitting up I glimpsed ice through the porthole. I can hear more of it clunking against the Esperanza's hull.

"Good grief, I'm in the flippin' Antarctic!"

I stumble out on deck, bleary-eyed, swaddled in warm clothing, and hanging on to a cup of Earl Grey. The shipped is fogged in and surrounded by brash ice. Here and there a seal - trying to get the last bit of a lie-in on a comfortable chunk - wakes up and glances at the big blue ship, as if to say "what the hell is that?", then dozes off again. A few penguins stand flapping their wings at each other, looking like they've missed their bus to work.

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6 February 2007

The Iceberg Cometh

Posted by Sara, on the Esperanza

It has been 48 hours of firsts for me.

There can be few more incredible ways to start your day than with your first iceberg. But, despite it being nearly a mile long and over 50 meters high out of the water I confess that to my sleepy six-thirty-in-the-morning eyes, it was a tiny bit disappointing that it wasn't pointy and alpine, like the ones in the storybooks. But a few slugs of hot tea later, there was no escaping the majesty of this piece of Antarctica as it floated slowly away, decaying with each crashing wave that pounded against its almost sheer sides.

So after considerable teasing from the rest of the crew as they gathered on the bridge or stood out in the icy blasts to watch it pass by, Neil explained to me that the pointy ones only come when parts have sheared off the great hunks like the one on our starboard side and then turn over in the water.

He promised I would be the first he called when a pointy one came into sight.

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5 February 2007

Sorry isn't enough

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

How you can help »

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Pitching and rolling, last year's video and our first iceberg

Posted by Melanie, on the Esperanza

On Sunday the ship started to roll and pitch again. It started at 4am, or at least that's the time that the movement woke me up from a sound sleep and kept me up for the rest of the night. The wind and waves increased for much of the morning so that by 11am, the ship was being pummeled by 10m/33ft swells coming from the starboard side, and the wind was regularly clocking in at the high 40 knot range with gusts into the 50s.

A lot of us were in the bridge hanging on to railings or permanently mounted objects, leaning to the right and then shifting to the left as the ship rolled 30 degrees. I've finally gotten over my ridiculous fear that somehow the ship will capsize when it rolls, so I quite enjoyed it.

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Japanese lesson

Posted by Sakyo, on the Esperanza

Here in the ship, some of the crew are really keen to speak Japanese. During the last expedition, there was a Japanese class held by the translator, John.

Some crew still have textbooks and are trying to remember and practice some words they learned. Which is sweet but sometimes creates some hilarious sentences.

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4 February 2007

Manga Whale arrives in Auckland

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

Earlier movie: Manga Whale Asks for Help »
More from Manga whale on IGO »

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3 February 2007

Calm seas once again

Posted by Melanie, on the Esperanza

After two days of rough weather the seas have calmed down once more. Hallelujah! I barely slept for the two nights we were in rough seas, the movement kept tossing me around in my bunk. The bow crashing into the water when the ship pitched forward created a loud bang and made the entire ship shudder. Not fun. I spent many hours looking at my watch and trying to will myself to sleep, which was an exercise in futility. It was so lovely to get a full night's sleep last night, I went to bed at around 10pm and slept until 7am. Sweet.

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Manga whale asks Greenpeace for help!

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

How you can help »

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2 February 2007

I don't mind the pitching, but the rolling really gets you

Posted by Karli, on the Esperanza

I've been hearing these comments all around the ship today: "it's the pitching that's the worst" or "I don't mind the pitching, but the rolling really gets you" ...for me, it's definitely the rolly-pitchy-rolling that does it. When you tip this way, then that way, then the other way and around and back to this way again, left feeling all heavy and light at the same time.

Today was our first day of large-ish seas (note to my boss: I know, it could be a lot worse). We are all eternally grateful that we are onboard the Esperanza, not her Greenpeace sister the Arctic Sunrise. Who looks, for all intents and purposes, like a ship... but is in actual fact a hybrid of a ship and a washing machine.

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1 February 2007

The message is spreading

Posted by Sakyo, on the Esperanza

It's been six days since we left Auckland. The waves are getting rougher and rougher.

Back in New Zealand, I was very surprised that so many people came to the Open Boat. At one point, I even joined the ship's tour with other visitors. When a volunteer guide talked about about how "most Japanese people don't really eat whale meat" and "two thirds of the people don't support their Government's whaling in the high seas", I could hear/feel that people around me were really interested in hearing this.

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Black and white dolphins

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

I don't know how many times I've seen dolphins while at sea. Really, I don't know. The time I was on the Esperanza, off the coast of West Africa, it seemed that every afternoon, Nadia, the 2nd mate, would shout out "crazy jumping dolphins" - and we'd be out on deck, watching the spinner dolphins pirouetting through the air.

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31 January 2007

Life on a floating roller coaster

Posted by Melanie, on the Esperanza

The seas have picked up significantly since yesterday and the ship is rolling about 20 degrees to port and starboard, sometimes more. I'm psyched that I haven't had to take any seasickness medicine at all, and while I have a constant lowgrade headache and a tinge of nausea, I'm certainly nowhere close to how sick I've been on past expeditions on the Arctic Sunrise. This ship is so much more stable than the Sunrise, and I'm pretty confident that I'll be able to make it through the entire expedition with my stomach contents intact.

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So, why are we going to the Southern Ocean?

Posted by Karli, on the Esperanza

For some people, it's self-evident why we are returning the Southern Ocean - to try and put an end, to whaling there. For others, I pestered Karli to write this 'mission statement' to explain why we're going - Dave.

For the past 14 months we've been running a campaign called Defending Our Oceans. During that time we have highlighted many key threats to the world's oceans, from whaling in the icy reaches of the Southern Ocean, to illegal pirate fishing and rampant over-fishing, and to toxic and plastic marine pollution. But like the name of our ship - Esperanza - the voyage is also about giving hope for the future: hope in the form of a global network of marine reserves. We started the expedition by going to the Southern Ocean to confront the Japanese government's whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, and we have come full circle: we will finish by returning to the whale sanctuary, and again defending the whales.

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30 January 2007

Hypocrisy on the high seas?

Posted by Sara, on the Esperanza

One of the key demands of this campaign is that governments act at the highest level to stop whaling.

The Japanese government has been hugely effective in pouring millions of yen and government hours into doing the opposite - advancing their position through diplomatic and economic channels year on year. But it seems that despite their rhetoric, some governments might be too concerned with appeasing a trading partner than they are about defending the whales.

Only a few weeks ago it was reported that the Japanese government had intervened to ensure three countries, the UK, Belize and Canada de-register the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's ship, Farley Mowat. Today we heard they had succeeded in putting pressure on the UK once again and the British Registry of Ships has now de-flagged their second ship, Robert Hunter. Both ships are now sailing as stateless, pirate vessels.

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29 January 2007

Ocean Defenders TV: Safe sailing Esperanza

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

Auckland says goodbye to the Greenpeace ship Esperanza and her crew as they set off to the Southern Ocean to defend the whales. Watch Ocean Defenders TV »

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Scrimzy: the anti-whaling alien

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

whales.greenpeace.org »

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Respect for the cooks!

Posted by Karli, on the Esperanza

Yesterday, the three campaigners onboard the Esperanza took on a different challenge. Being fiends for Japanese food (especially sushi and inari) we offered to cook a Japanese meal for the entire crew. Realising that 38 people means a lot of sushi-rolling, and in a slight last-minute moment of doubt, we also recruited kiwi volunteer Logi, who we heard on good authority had a fantastic Japanese-style eggplant recipe up his sleeve (he did).

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We love Japan, but not high seas whaling

Posted by Melanie, on the Esperanza

Yesterday was Sunday, and traditionally, someone offers to cook dinner so the cooks can have at least half a day off.

Last night the campaigners on board (me from the US office, Karli from Greenpeace International and Sakyo from Greenpeace Japan) cooked a Japanese dinner for the crew. We started at 1pm and it took the entire five hours to get all of the food ready for the crew by 6pm. We had a pretty ambitious menu: nori maki (seaweed wrapped rolls of sushi rice and vegetables), onigiri (triangular-shaped rice balls with a pickled umeboshi plum in the middle and a seaweed wrapper), miso soup and two kinds of shiratame (sticky rice balls) for dessert: one with sweet adzuki beans called oshiruko, the second served with soybean powder called kinako. We had a lot of fun, and of course the best was learning from Sakyo how to make rice, the nori maki sushi rolls, miso soup and shiratame. I love Japanese food, and at home I frequently make nori maki and miso soup, but I learned last night that I've been using a lot of non-traditional (read: wrong!) ways of cooking Japanese food. Sakyo was very polite and diplomatic about my and Karli's non-traditional ways of cooking Japanese food, calling it "interesting."

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Sara's Challenge

Posted by Sara, on the Esperanza

I've been a journalist for many years and my brain is the repository for more useless information than you can begin to image - very handy for impressing at dinner parties - very boring on long train journeys (at least for my fellow travellers).

But in my crew profile I did promise more amazing facts on whales.

Did You Know...?

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Ask Denmark not to attend Japan's Commercial Whaling Meeting

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

This February, the Japanese Government will be hosting a meeting in Tokyo to discuss the future of the whaling industry. They will be inviting other governments in attempt to create an illusion of widespread support for an end to the moratorium on commercial whaling by the International Whaling Commission (IWC).

We’re asking Denmark not to go to this meeting.

Denmark is a swing country at the IWC. IT takes a strong pro-whaling line because its delegation is dominated by the wishes of Greenland and the Faroe islands. But a majority of its population opposes whaling, and Denmark has supported many positive initiatives to protect whales and maintain transparency at the IWC.

Write to the Foreign Minister of Denmark and ask him NOT to support a return to whaling and not to participate in Japan’s attempt to undermine the moratorium »

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27 January 2007

A whale's tale in the sky

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

I was out on the bridge wing tonight, talking to Emelie, the 4th mate, who was on watch. We were chatting away, talking about the landscapes of New Zealand and Ireland. I must have seemed a little rude - I suddenly said "excuse me", and darted away. Seconds later I was back with my camera.

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Departure and the first 24 hours at sea

Posted by Melanie, on the Esperanza

We've now been at sea for a little over 24 hours. We departed Auckland yesterday and it was quite emotional. My eyes welled up with tears and I was a bit embarrassed by it, but then I looked around and realized I wasn't the only one without dry eyes. We had quite the nice crowd on the dock to wave us off, including the folks from the Greenpeace office in Auckland and some folks from the land-based campaign team who have been working hard to get the on-board campaign team prepared and ready for the expedition.

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26 January 2007

New Zealand Air Force spots Japanese whaling ships!

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

Mindblowing news - a New Zealand Air Force Orion aircraft on a surveillance mission against illegal fishing in the Southern Ocean has sighted Japanese whaling vessels operating in the Ross Sea! Not only that, the Airforce managed to film the fleet, and has made the footage available.

“New Zealand has been at the forefront of international efforts to prevent whaling, and expose the heavily contested scientific basis for lethal whale research. We regard the release of this footage today as part of that effort," said Chris Carter, NZ's Minister for Conservation.

He also said that “the Orion has taken footage of the Japanese fleet's activities. Three whaling vessels were observed harpooning, hauling and processing whales. Given the strong public interest in this issue, the government has decided to make the footage available to the media".

"In doing so, we hope to allow the public to make up their own minds about Japan's whaling activities."

Here's the footage from the New Zealand Air Force on YouTube »

Watch the video »

News story: NZ Government releases footage of Japanese whaling »

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First night at sea

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

So, we're off. With a mixture of relief, anticipation and emotion, we watched the mooring lines drop into the water, and the thrusters push the Esperanza away from Prince's Wharf. Dozens of people were on quayside to see us off, including, as Sara has written about - John, the man with the sign. We're off to intercept the Japanese whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean - and to hinder their attempts to kill hundreds of whales.

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It's a sign!

Posted by Sara, on the Esperanza

Goodbyes are always emotional. Sailing out of port, leaving good friends behind and the anticipation of what is ahead always leaves me a little misty eyed and soppy.

You expect your friends to wave you off. But, I am always amazed by the number of people that come to wave off a gang of virtual strangers simply because they are on board a Greenpeace ship.

There was the elderly lady that I met for a matter of minutes at an open day a couple of weeks ago, who turned up today all dressed up and blowing kisses. But I was most struck by one person who has already been nicknamed "Sign Man".

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The day before departure

Written last night, and posted by Melanie, on the Esperanza

Greetings from the Esperanza in Auckland, New Zealand. It's 8pm on Thursday night and we were supposed to be underway today at noon, but our departure was delayed due to something in the engine room and some epoxy that needs to dry before we can go. The epoxy is pretty important since from what I have heard (and don't quote me on this since I'm anything but an engineer) is that it is fixing a crack in the engine block. Sounds pretty serious. Definitely worth waiting for. But I've been on board the ship for a week and after a week of preparation, I'm ready to get out of here and head south toward the Southern Ocean and get on with the campaign.

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25 January 2007

Whale Love Wagon!

What's this? A Whale Love Wagon? What's it all about then? Spanish boy meets Japanese girl - they hit the road and tour Japan in the "Whale Love Wagon", in search of true love - for the planet, and for whales!

Ivan and Yuki are ready for a whale of an adventure!

"I've loved Japanese culture since my childhood," says Ivan, "I want to learn more about whales and Japanese culture."

Yuki adds, "I want to deepen my knowledge about whales and express my feelings in my art-work".

Follow Ivan and Yuki as they go to Shibuya to talk to people there »

Check the Whale Love Wagon myspace account

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Problems With Glue

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

Ok, so I jumped the gun a little last night - it wasn't our last night in port. We had planned it on tonight on being our first night at sea, but our departure has been delayed until 1200 midday on Friday, New Zealand time. This is because of work that needed to be done in the engine room - it involves waiting for some epoxy to dry. One New Zealand radio presenter had it sort of right, and sort of wrong when he reported - while talking to Junichi - that we were delayed due to a "problems with glue".

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24 January 2007

Last night anywhere near land

By Dave, on the Esperanza

It's another warm, clammy night here, in the campaign office of the Esperanza. There's no one here, but us chickens - Sara and I, glued to our laptops. You'd think we'd be out savouring the delights of urban life, but no, tonight, that's not our path. We've too much to do.

Tomorrow morning is our pre-voyage press conference - and then we're scheduled to depart at 1600 tomorrow, New Zealand Time, with all our crew, supplies and equipment on board. We'll be heading down the east coast of the North Island, heading for the Southern Ocean through the roaring forties, furious fifties and the screaming sixties.

It's down in the wild Southern Ocean that we'll find the whaling fleet, and we'll be making sure they don't go home with a full quota of dead minke or fin whales.

The adventure is just about to begin... you can take part too. Keep watching the Ocean Defenders blog and sign up to our crew on whales.greenpeace.org

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23 January 2007

Iceland's sustainable whaling? Yeah, right!

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

Dumping site for 179 tonnes of whale entrails in Iceland
© Greenpeace / Arnkvaern

In late 2006 a single whaler, given a commercial license by the Icelandic government, hunted and killed seven fin whales. This caused huge public and political controversy, both in Iceland an internationally.

Now, some of our activists in Iceland have been hard at work, discovering whopping 200 tonnes of meat and blubber from endangered fin whales still in storage - awaiting tests for chemical contamination.

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20 January 2007

The Preparation continues on board the Esperanza, and Edmund Hillary speaks out against whaling!

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

Hernan giving a presentation about IGO

Well, the last Open Boat is done, and the Esperanza has temporarily moved to another part of Auckland harbour, continuing the ongoing preparations for our expedition to the Southern Ocean. Nearly all the crew have arrived, and everyone is getting to know each other, and some of us even managed to grab a few hours off from thinking about ships and whales and environmentalism. Just a few hours, mind.

Last night, Greenpeace New Zealand held a party so that local staff and activists could get to know the crew of the Espy, and today, Hernan did a presentation in the Greenpeace office about the IGO project. It's been a busy few days!

Meanwhile, Mount Everest hero Sir Edmund Hillary has been at Scott base in the Antarctic for what he says his last time. While there, he took the time to criticise the Japanese government, who he said do not "seem to have accepted that these creatures, wonderful creatures that they are, should be carefully protected".

Everest, Antarctic explorer Hillary returns to frozen continent on last time

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Open Boat - and some new recruits...

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

© Greenpeace/Walsh

A week ago, John wrote about hosting "open boat" days. Today we had another busy day (with the final Auckland public day being tomorrow, Sunday) with hundreds of people coming on board to find out what we do. Apart from advertising in the media, anyone we bumped into got asked along - people we met in shops, bars and restaurants. This evening, after the Esperanza had 'closed' for the day, I got talking to a German couple who had just arrived on a flight from Fiji (no visible coup-related trouble, they assured me) who pledged to come back to visit tomorrow.

For me, the most interesting visitor of the day was a gentleman named Tony. You see, on my arrival into Auckland airport on Monday, one of my bags was missing. I registered the loss at the baggage desk, and headed for the ship. On Tuesday morning, I phoned the airport, and got talking to one of the baggage staff, who queried first my (Irish) accent and then the address I'd given: "The Big Blue Ship on Prince's Wharf, beside the Hilton Hotel". I told him it was the Esperanza - and he knew all about the whaling campaign. He promised to find my bag, and I invited him to visit the ship.

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New Zealand Minister for Conservation visits Esperanza!

Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza

The Esperanza's captain, Frank Kamp (left) talking to New Zealand's Minister Chris Carter and Greenpeace New Zealand's Bunny McDiarmid on board the Esperanza
© Greenpeace/Walsh

Life on board the Esperanza ain't always paint-scraping and seasickness and dolphins - last night saw plenty of landlubber guests on board the Esperanza here in Auckland, for a gathering of "friends and allies". Amongst them were New Zealand's Conservation Minister Chris Carter and the Department of Conservation's Mike Donoghue - a real live whale expert.

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Defending our Oceans is Smart!

As Adele has posted over on the Making Waves blog, we've just made (at the time of posting) the #2 spot on a list of the "59 Smartest Orgs online as chosen by GetActive, NetSquared and Squidoo". They say:

"These are organizations that give their volunteers and members a voice and get out of the way. They're pros at mobilizing awareness online. They're experimentors. Innovators. On a mission. They're fearless....These aren't just orgs that throw up a video or a forum or a MySpace page and stop."

Read more here - and vote for us!

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19 January 2007

Ocean Defenders TV: Jetske Arrives in Auckland

Freshly arrived from the Netherlands, here's Jetske, one of our boat drivers. She looks back on her experiences of last year's expedition and wonder what might lie ahead this year.

Ok, so she's on board - but you're gonna have to come here too!

Meet Jetske on Ocean Defenders TV »

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18 January 2007

The Esperanza by Night

By Dave, on the Esperanza

View from the deck of the Esperanza, Auckland, January 2007
© Greenpeace/Walsh

The last time I was in Auckland, was in 2005, when I joined the Rainbow Warrior for the bottom trawling expedition to the Tasman Sea. Right before we left, I did a long exposure from the deck of the ship, from our berth at Prince's Wharf, showing the deck and the skyline of Auckland, with the inevitable view of the Sky Tower.

Rainbow Warrior in Auckland, May 2005
© Greenpeace/Walsh

On this visit, the Esperanza is at the other side of the wharf, with less of a city skyline, but still with a view of the Sky Tower. So, last night, I was inspired to take another photograph from on top of the Esperanza's Heli-deck. Enjoy!

Deja Vu - The Rainbow Warrior is back in Auckland »

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Want to come go to the Southern Ocean with Us?

Well, you can, with I-Go!

Yes folks, we're looking for a whopping 30,000 campaigners to join the Esperanza as we sail to the Southern Ocean. OK, so the ship might only accomodate 35 crewmembers, but we need all of you guys to come along with us. So there's jobs available:

JOB DESCRIPTION: Become a Greenpeace campaigner by signing on to whales.greenpeace.org in order to create a truly global campaign to defend the whales.

BACKGROUND: Greenpeace actions against whaling fleets brought about a moratorium on commercial whaling over twenty years ago. However, in recent years, against the wishes of more than 70% of Japanese people and in the face of international condemnation, the Fisheries Agency of Japan has spent millions of dollars of Japanese taxpayers money pursuing a campaign to reintroduce commercial whaling and the hunting of endangered species.

LOCATION: Anywhere in the world where you can log on to: whales.greenpeace.org and take action.

QUALIFICATIONS: Possess great ideas, is willing to campaign relentlessly to defend the whales and ensure the Southern Ocean becomes a true sanctuary for all whales. Has a positive and constructive approach, racist jerks need not apply.

REWARDS: Become part of the biggest crew to sail to the Southern Ocean, just by surfing the Internet. Have your idea used by the Greenpeace crew to defend the whales in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary

BENEFITS: No need to endure rough weather and terrible seasickness!

Ok, so where do I sign up for this madness? »

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16 January 2007

New webbie on board

Well, not that new

Hi - I'm Dave, the latest web editor to join the Esperanza. I'm no stranger to Greenpeace shiplife, indeed some of you might remember me from previous adventures like Pirate Fishing: West Africa. Right now I'm posting from the Greenpeace NZ office, while the Esperanza is pulled up at nearby Prince's Wharf, in Downtown Auckland.

Over the next few weeks, I'll be guiding your through our adventures in the Southern Ocean, where we'll be in pursuit of the whaling fleet. We can't do it on our own though - Join our virtual crew and post your ideas to save whales!

If your in New Zealand, come visit the Esperanza this weekend!

Where: Princes Wharf, Auckland (behind the Maritime Museum)

Dates: 20 & 21 January 2007

Time: 10am - 4pm

Entry is free. Your koha/donation is appreciated and will help our voyage.

The open boat days will be on regardless of weather.

For more info, contact Greenpeace NZ.

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All updates from the Southern Ocean whaling 2007 leg »
All updates from the Pacific transit »
All updates from the Mexico leg »
All updates from the Hawaii leg »
All updates from the Pacific leg »
All updates from the Philippines leg »
All updates from the India leg »
All updates from the Red Sea leg »
All updates from the Mediterranean leg »
All updates from the Azores leg »
All updates from the Pirate Fishing/Africa leg »
All updates from the Southern Ocean »

Avast ye land lubbers! The ocean critters need your help!
Take action today!