Welcomed by the crew and activists of the Greenpeace Local Group, dozens of people from Nice, both young and old, had the chance and pleasure to visit the flagship of the association’s fleet, which made a stopover in Nice for the weekend, moored along the Duc d’Albe quay.
The Rainbow Warrior, one of Greenpeace’s three ships, easily recognizable with its green hull, serves as a mobile base for Greenpeace to carry out environmental campaigns and awareness-raising activities as well as scientific research activities.
This 57.9-meter sailing ship is the first “custom-built” boat by Greenpeace to meet the specific needs of its actions carried out at sea and on land.
Inaugurated in 2011, the Rainbow Warrior 3 has become the new flagship of the NGO Greenpeace. Unlike its predecessors, two modified old trawlers, it is the first vessel built specifically for the organization’s campaigns.
The Rainbow Warrior III is the latest in the Rainbow Warrior series. We of course remember the first, used by the association in the 1980s. It became the symbol of the fight against the French nuclear tests underway at that time in the Pacific, on the Polynesian islands of Moruroa and Fangataufa.
While the vessel was en route in 1985 to Moruroa to hinder these tests, and was anchored in Auckland harbor, New Zealand, it was sunk by French secret service agents, triggering the Rainbow Warrior affair. A photographer perished.
The Rainbow Warrior can accommodate a crew of 30 people and reach a top speed of 15 knots. It was designed according to strict ecological imperatives: it uses wind as its primary source of energy and, when conditions require, a diesel-electric engine takes over. The heat from the engine and generators is recovered and recycled to heat the cabins and preheat the engine. Wastewater is treated and purified using a biological system.
The Rainbow Warrior is also equipped to serve the cause of environmental protection. Articulated arms can launch its three zodiacs in a few minutes; its landing strip allows for the presence of a helicopter; the cranes on board allow for the loading of large scientific equipment (weighing up to eight tons); the crow’s nest located at a height of 50 m allows for the spotting of boats practicing illegal fishing up to 24 km away.
