The Hindu : National : Greenpeace flagship arrives with a message

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Nov 07, 2004

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National

Greenpeace flagship arrives with a message

By Saptarshi Bhattacharya

CHENNAI, NOV. 6. Rainbow Warrior, the flagship of Greenpeace, the international environmental campaign organisation, docked at the Chennai Port today to the beats of `mridangam' and the notes of `nadaswaram.'

A drizzle blurred the view as a tugboat drew the schooner through the entry channel and into the North Quay in the afternoon. The colourful sails of about 15 sailboats of the Tamilnadu Sailing Association ushered in the green crusaders.

Cameras clicked and journalists jockeyed for the best angle as the 14-member crew made their way through the gangway into the wharf. Greenpeace volunteers, environmental activists and children welcomed them at the dock in traditional style — with garland, sandal paste and `kumkum'.

The vessel

Rainbow Warrior was chartered in 1987 after its predecessor was bombed and sunk off the coast of Auckland, New Zealand. The vessel is 55.2 metres long and 8.54 m broad and has a maximum speed of 12 knots. In the high seas it uses sails to propel itself to an average speed of five to seven knots.

On Sunday, Greenpeace will organise a panel discussion on the protection of worldwide marine reserves and the sustainable use of the oceans, with specific reference to the protection of seamounts, the underwater mountains that sustain corals; sea spiders and octopuses, and the problems facing the Indian Ocean.

Following a photo session, the crew members mingled with the visitors. Cosmo Wassenaar, the captain of the ship, had a chat with mediapersons. "The special feature of this ship? It's us," he said, responding to a query.

Multinational crew

The crew members — one volunteer and the remaining professional seafarers, coming from different countries — are here during a voyage across the globe to `Save Our Seas'. The purpose is to educate people about issues pertaining to coastal biodiversity, marine reserves and the environment, Mr. Wassenaar said. While the focus should be on preserving the natural biosphere reserves, being gradually destroyed by indiscriminate fishing, the livelihood issues of the fishermen should also be addressed. "We will have to find a consensus," he said.

India has a 5,500-km-plus shoreline and huge marine natural reserves. "Five of the seven common sea turtle species are found in India, but their number is slowly going down. We all have heard about sea horse trading here in the South," he said.

Asked about the proposed Sethusamudram project, Mr. Wassenaar said he was "shocked" to hear that in order to save a couple of hours of ship travel, "they are dredging a channel which will destroy a marine reserve."

Rainbow Warrior sails for Orissa on November 10 to campaign for the preservation of the Bhitarkanika sanctuary, one of the world's last remaining Olive Ridley Turtle mass nesting sites.

It had just completed a round of campaigning in Singapore, Indonesia and Bangkok against fishing in the Pacific, and illegal logging.

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