ON A MISSION: Greenpeace ship M.V. Esperanza at the Chenni port on Sunday. — Photo : M. Vedhan

CHENNAI: Greenpeace vessel M.V. Esperanza, on a voyage across four of the world's five oceans enlisting support for the organisation's `Defending Our Oceans' campaign called at the Chennai port on Sunday.

The 72-metre-long expedition/research category vessel, described by Greenpeace as the largest in its fleet, would dock here for at least the next four days.

Apart from continuing with a signature campaign under which Greenpeace proposed to sign up one million ocean defenders, it would serve as the platform for release of a report on `India's Coastal and Marine Environment — Planning for the Future.'

Local issues

According to the organisation's ocean campaigner Sanjiv Gopal, the report would highlight local issues across the coastal region.

It had case studies highlighting the fragility and vulnerability of marine ecosystems and would provide solutions to help conserve the Indian Ocean and those dependent on it for survival.

The ultimate aim was to seek creation of marine protection network in consultation with the coastal communities.

Meaning `hope' in Spanish, Esperanza was one of the 14 fire-fighting vessels ordered by Russian Government between 1983 and 1987 from Poland, according to Greenpeace website (www.greenpeace.org/international/) .

The 25-strong crew belong to different nationalities, from the Dutch captain to the French cook, besides Greenpeace activists on board.

A British sailor Penny, sporting the garland given to her on arrival, said she was happy to be in India and loved the smell of the flowers.

This is the third time a Greenpeace vessel is coming to India since 1999. The earlier two were by its flagship Rainbow Warrior.

Russian link

Esperanza was part of the fleet used by the Russian Navy for firefighting ships in Murmansk. Subsequently the ownership changed hands and now it is registered in Amsterdam.

It took many months for Greenpeace to refit the ship "in as environmentally friendly way as possible." The Esperanza first began working for it in 2002.

Next destination

From Chennai, where Greenpeace planned to organise a programme at Besant Nagar beach as part of a `Save Our Seas' campaign on Tuesday, Esperanza would set sail for South-East Asia.

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