Martin Cullen boarding
the Noble Warrior.
The Minister of the Environment comes on board...
11 September 2002
Followed by a swarm of press, Martin Cullen, Ireland's Minister for the Environment climbed a steep gangway to board the Rainbow Warrior.
He held a quick press conference on the ship, then posed for photos on board the Noble Warrior (a flotilla boat tied up next to the RW). This helped make the point that the upcoming protest is more about the flotilla then Greenpeace. After putting up with what seemed like a few hundred pictures, the minister chatted with Paul (skipper of the Noble Warrior), then went inside to talk with flotilla members and Greenpeace.
Paul, a flotilla skipper, being interviewed.
I think the meet went really well. Apparently, the minister has spent a lot of time sailing the Irish coast - so there was something in common for everyone to talk about. In both the meeting and his statements to the press he was openly supportive of the goals of the flotilla (shut Sellafield down, stop the nuke shipments). He also praised Greenpeace's safety record, but asked for caution on the part everyone in the flotilla. As a sailor himself, minister Cullen knows how the open sea can be a dangerous place, especially to the unprepared or inexperienced. I think the flotilla skippers and Daniel were able to reassure minister Cullen that everyone in the flotilla has the training, experience and gear to operate safely.
...followed by surprise visit from the Prime Minister himself!
Amazing. The Prime Minister of Ireland just came on board for an informal visit. Presumably, he was heading past the ship and decided, on the spur of the moment, to drop in. For Kay, a Greenpeace activist who has spent the past months lobbying politicians in Ireland - pushing them to support the flotilla and condemn the nuclear waste shipment - his visit was a sign of Irish resolve. In her words:
John and Ireland's PM.
"Taoiseach [Prime Minister], Bertie Ahern dropped by the ship today and expressed his gratitude to Greenpeace and everyone working on the campaign. He discussed the campaign generally with us and noted that he was aware that both of his party colleagues, Minister for Environment Martin Cullen and Minsiter for the Marine Dermot Aherne have called to see us and that they are working away on the issue. He was also aware of the depth of public felling on the issue and reiterated the Government's commitment in the Programme for Government and to pursuing the legal case through every diplomatic and legal channel."
- Kay
Even though the visit was strictly informal, that the highest-ranking politician in Ireland came by to wish us good luck and safe sailing is a very big deal. But, in a way it's no surprise. Each day the Sellafield plant (in the UK) dumps 10 million litres of nuclear waste into the Irish Sea - which, as you can imagine, does not do much to endear them to their neighbours.
Ruth - painting.
While the campaign and comms teams are obviously doing their part - as evidenced by the near unanimous political support and media saturation we have seen here in Ireland - the ship's crew has also been doing their part.
The crew has helped out by giving school groups and visitors tours of the ship, and done the occasional press interview. Plus, the day-to-day work of a ship still has to get done. For example, one recent job was the maintenance of the ship's horn, which happens to be located at the very top of the top of the tallest mast. The horn was brought down, fixed and put back. Another piece of work was adding three shackles to one of the anchor chains. One shackle = 27 metres, and it took six people three trips to get each shackle up the stairs to the forepeak.
Tomorrow we're off. The Irish contingent of the flotilla will sail out together, and we are all looking forward to being at sea.
The Minister for the Environment on Greenpeace, safety and the nuke transports.
