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Just off the coast of Marstrand, Rainbow Warrior III, the 60-meter-long flagship used by the environmental organization Greenpeace for its protests since 2009, is currently resting.
On board is Swedish Markus Mattisson, responsible for daily communications at Greenpeace Nordic.
– Right now we are 21 people on board from many different parts of the world. Fiji, United States, Finland, Colombia… whatever.
Markus Mattisson boarded the ship in early August. Photo: Andrew McConell
Protesting against Preemraff
There is also a reason why the sailboat made it to the west coast.
On Saturday, September 5, “Climate Navigation” will be organized in Brofjorden, outside Preemraff, the oil refinery that has been approved by the government to expand its facilities.
It is a flotilla consisting of about 30 ships and about 20 kayaks sailing from Lysekil to Brofjorden, where the purpose is to shed light on the incredibly important subject of Preem’s expansion plans.
Greenpeace believes that the expansion, which would lead to increased emissions, would lead Sweden to take a step in the wrong direction towards the Paris Agreement, the international climate agreement signed in 2015.
– We believe that it does not work, and we want to shed light on Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, who has the issue on the table. Now you have the opportunity to choose: Preem or Paris.
Preem has previously admitted that the expansion would initially mean increased carbon dioxide emissions, but at the same time claims that in the long term it will lead to improvements.
– It is true that point emissions at Lysekil are increasing. But the net effect over time will be very positive for the climate. Especially since we will phase out fossil volumes and install technology to capture carbon dioxide, the company’s CEO Peter Holland told TT on June 15.
The predecessor was sunk by France
The original Rainbow Warrior was launched by Greenpeace in 1977, but sank eight years later in New Zealand.
The ship was heading to French Polynesia for a protest against French atomic bomb testing when it was sunk by the French intelligence service. During the attack, Portuguese photographer Fernando Pereira, 35, also drowned.
Rainbow Warrior III is the environmental organization’s first flagship and went live in 2011. It was then that its predecessor, Rainbow Warrior II, retired after 20 years of service with Greenpeace.
The fact that an environmental organization has a flagship, and also a fleet of ships, can make anyone wonder why.
– There are really only two things our ships do; On the one hand, they participate in peaceful protests against environmental crimes, but they are also tasked with documenting ongoing environmental crimes, says Markus Mattisson.
The first issue of Rainbow Warrior with a bias after the attack in New Zealand in 1985. Image: TT
The ship, which is almost 60 meters long and 55 meters high, uses wind power instead of fossil fuels and is used in various Greenpeace actions.
– It is above all a much more modern boat with a large sailing area. Auxiliary motors are hybrid motors that use electric drive when necessary.
One of the most impressive features: Rainbow Warrior can make her own drinking water.
– When we are a bit far from the coast, it sucks sea water that then passes through a large number of pipes and filters. It tastes great, I’ve been through it for a few weeks and I don’t notice any difference.
The third edition of Rainbow Warrior sailed near Queensland, Australia. Photo: Jeff Tan
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