Rainbow Warrior (1955)
Rainbow Warrior docked in 1979.
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History | |
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Name |
|
Owner |
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Operator | Greenpeace (1978–1985) |
Port of registry | Aberdeen, United Kingdom[1] |
Builder | Hall, Russell & Company, Aberdeen, UK |
Yard number | 846[2] |
Launched | 29 November 1954[2] |
Acquired | 1977 |
Identification | IMO number: 5329786 |
Fate | |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Trawler |
Tonnage | 418 GT |
Length | 40 m (131 ft 3 in) |
Draught | 4.6 m |
Propulsion | 2 engines, 620 m² of sails |
Speed |
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Rainbow Warrior was a
History
Rainbow Warrior was commissioned by the
With Greenpeace
In 1977 the ship was acquired by
In early 1985, Rainbow Warrior was in the Pacific Ocean campaigning against nuclear testing. In May, it relocated 300 Marshall Islanders from Rongelap Atoll, which had been polluted by radioactive fallout from past American nuclear tests at the Pacific Proving Grounds.[5][6]
It then travelled to
DGSE agent Christine Cabon infiltrated the Auckland offices of the organisation and secretly monitored communications from Rainbow Warrior, collected maps, and investigated underwater equipment. French agents posing as interested supporters or tourists also toured the ship while it was open to public viewing.[7][8]
Bombing of Rainbow Warrior
Rainbow Warrior, then captained by
A homicide inquiry began after the arrests of two French agents. The revelations of French involvement caused a political scandal and the French Minister of Defence Charles Hernu resigned. The captured French agents were imprisoned, but later transferred to French custody. They were confined to the French military base on the Island of Hao for a brief period before being released. After facing international pressure, France agreed to pay compensation to Greenpeace, and later admissions from the former head of the DGSE revealed that three teams had carried out the bombings. In addition to those successfully prosecuted, two DGSE divers, Jacques Camurier and Alain Tonel, had carried out the actual bombing, but their identities have never been officially confirmed.[9] On 22 September 1985, the French Prime Minister Laurent Fabius summoned journalists to his office to read a 200-word statement in which he said: "The truth is cruel," and acknowledged there had been a cover-up, he went on to say that "Agents of the French secret service sank this boat. They were acting on orders."[10]
Following the sinking, Greenpeace and the French Republic entered into an agreement to submit Greenpeace's claims against France to international arbitration. The arbitral tribunal, seated in Geneva, Switzerland, was composed of three members (Professor Claude Reymond, Sir
The wreck of Rainbow Warrior was refloated on 21 August 1985 and moved to a naval harbour for
Literature
Several books have been written about both the history of Greenpeace and the genesis of Rainbow Warrior. A Bonfire in my Mouth: Life, Passion and the Rainbow Warrior by Susi Newborn was published in 2003 and Rex Wyler's Greenpeace: An Insider's Account. How a Group of Ecologists, Journalists and Visionaries Changed the World in 2004. In 2014, Pete Wilkinson's book From Deptford to Antarctica – The Long Way Home was published.
Books that have been published about the bombing of Rainbow Warrior include Eyes of Fire: The Last Voyage of the Rainbow Warrior, which was produced the year after the sinking and written by shipboard author David Robie.[14]
Books in French include L'affaire Greenpeace, in Les grands énigmes de notre temps, Jacques Derogy, Éditions de Cremille, Geneva, 1990, which notes (at p. 82) that the affair cost France 115 million francs, in addition to being the most serious scandal during the Mitterrand presidency.
In popular culture
Documentaries made about Rainbow Warrior include The Rainbow Warriors of Waiheke Island (2009), Departure and Return (2006) and The Women who Launched the Rainbow (2005).
Several fictionalised films have also been made about the ship, including The Rainbow Warrior Conspiracy[15] (1989), The Rainbow Warrior (1992), two French films Opération Rainbow Warrior[16] and Le Rainbow Warrior[17] (both 2006), and Bombshell (2016).[18] The Steven Seagal-directed On Deadly Ground, an action film inspired by Greenpeace's activities, had the working title Rainbow Warrior.
Musicians and bands who have referenced the original Rainbow Warrior and the sinking, include the Danish/American band
"Anchor Me" is a 1994 single by New Zealand rock band The Mutton Birds which a charity supergroup of New Zealand artists recorded in 2005 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior. The song peaked at #3 in the New Zealand singles chart.
A Greenpeace Rainbow Warrior benefit concert was held on 5 April 1986 at
Rainbow Quay in Rotherhithe, London, is named after the vessel, which was moored in this part of the Greenland dock prior to the development of residential flats also named Rainbow Quay.[24]
'Murder in the Pacific' is a three-part documentary about the sinking of the ship, directed by Chloe Campbell. It was broadcast on
See also
- Rainbow Warrior (1957), auxiliary 3-mast schooner, acquired by Greenpeace in 1989
- Rainbow Warrior (2011), purpose-designed Greenpeace ship
References
- ^ Brown, Paul; Evans, Rob (23 August 2005). "How Rainbow Warrior was played down". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
- ^ a b "Aberdeen Ships / Sir William Hardy". Aberdeen City Council. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
- ^ "The Rainbow Warrior | Greenpeace International". Archived from the original on 31 March 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2008.
- ^ "Rainbow Warrior I". Greenpeace. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011.
- ^ The evacuation of Rongelap (from the Greenpeace website. Accessed 12 July 2010.)
- ^ "Castle Bravo". Atomic Heritage Foundation. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
- ^ "Rainbow Warrior spy tracked down in France 32 years after bombing". 9 July 2017.
- ^ The French Government and Greenpeace Agents back in court on Friday The Canberra Times, 20 November 1985, at Trove
- ^ Field, Catherine (30 June 2005). "'Third team' in Rainbow Warrior plot". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
- ^ Evening Mail – Monday 23 September 1985
- ^ a b Shabecoff, Philip (3 October 1987). "France Must Pay Greenpeace $8 Million in Sinking of Ship". The New York Times.
- ^ "Wreck to reef-the transfiguration of the Rainbow Warrior". New Zealand Geographic (23). July–September 1994. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
- ^ Bombing of the Rainbow Warrior
- ^ South Pacific Books
- IMDb
- IMDb
- IMDb
- ^ Bombshell, retrieved 3 September 2019
- ^ Greenpeace Rainbow Warriors at Discogs (list of releases)
- New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
- ^ "Rainbow Warrior concert 1986". Frenz Forum. 14 July 2006. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
- ^ "Navicula – Green Grunge Gentlemen". www.naviculamusic.com. Archived from the original on 30 September 2008.
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Navicula – Busur Hujan [Rainbow Warrior]". YouTube.
- ^ "Rainbow Quay – History". www.rainbowquay.co.uk. Archived from the original on 13 May 2008.
- ^ Nicholson, Rebecca (2 March 2023). "Murder in the Pacific review – the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior boat makes for thrilling, urgent TV". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
External links
- Official Greenpeace page on the Rainbow Warrior Archived 31 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- New Zealand website on the Rainbow Warrior
- Interactive dive to the wreck (Interactive website from Greenpeace Germany and Kubikfoto)
- "Felling of a Warrior", 15 July 2005, The Guardian – article on 20th anniversary of Rainbow Warrior bombing including updates on further developments in the case.
- "How Rainbow Warrior was played down", 23 August 2005, The Guardian.
- "A photographer's date with a nuclear death", Pacific Journalism Review, 2(1), November 1995 – A reflective article 10 years after the bombing.