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My first glimpse of the Esperanza - lovely,
isn't she?
Phantom climbers boarding the Balaban from
the deck of the Warrior
Mayhem. From left to right, clockwise: the
Balaban I (target ship), coast guard vessel, Greenpeace
vessel Esperanza, tug boat, Greenpeace inflatable. Warrior
(not pictured) is underfoot.
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Another afternoon on the deck of the Warrior
By Meghan, web editor. 14 April. 11:00pm. Two Greenpeace
ships, ten inflatables, four canoes and six climbers versus
two tug boats, two police boats, three fire hoses and an
enormous container vessel carrying more than 4,000 cubic
metres of ancient rainforest. Imagine all of those coming
together in a small harbour in the Netherlands and you'll
get a picture of our action to stop the Amazon timber ship
Balaban I this afternoon.
At 2:00pm I was on the bridge of the Rainbow Warrior, awaiting
news from the Esperanza. The Esperanza was going to intercept
the Balaban I as it neared the harbour in Flushing and attempt
to place climbers on board. The Warrior was waiting near
the mouth of the harbour for the two ships to come in.
Through crackling radios and ringing cellphones I learned
that the climbers had made several unsuccessful attempts
to board - three fire hoses made the climb up a long caving
ladder impossible. (Listen to climber Damian's audio
update for details.) We launched our inflatables from
the Warrior - six in total - which joined those from the
Esperanza. This was the first time I had seen the newest
addition to the Greenpeace fleet.
The Balaban approached the harbour surrounded by our inflatables.
Cap'n Pete, intrepid leader of the RW, and Cap'n Frank,
Esperanza skipper, agreed to move in the mother ships. We
entered the harbour ahead of the Balaban and prepared to
block her from docking. Meanwhile the climbers had found
a gap in the fire hoses and made heroic climbs up the timber
ship's freeboard. As I rushed around the deck of the Warrior
with my digital camera to get photos of the boarding, I
failed to notice that Pete had stealthily slipped into the
Balaban's berth. Aha.
No sooner had I recognised Pete's skillful maneuvering
when I saw a commotion at the bow of the Balaban. A tug
boat was attempting to attach a bow line. Our inflatables
were attempting to stop the process. I saw a struggle for
the line and suddenly an inflatable was hauled out of the
water and into the air, attached to the bow line running
from tug to timber ship. The driver ended up in the water;
Dima, a canoeist, was holding onto the bow line with all
his might. I saw the inflatable plummet into the water,
and Dima followed shortly thereafter.
When it was apparent that no one was injured, I turned
my attention back to the Warrior. But before my shaken brain
could process any more information I heard Pete shout "I
need fenders on starboard RIGHT NOW". I ran, grabbed
fenders, looked to starboard and saw a huge red wall. A
second later it clicked: giant hull of Balaban less than
one metre (no exaggeration) from the Warrior. We threw fenders
over but still couldn't prevent the Balaban from scraping
alongside. She was trying to come into her berth but was
sandwiched - the Warrior on one side, the Esperanza (keeping
a healthy distance away) on the other.
It was during this time that climbers from the Esperanza
mysteriously appeared on the deck of the Warrior. (Listen
to climber Damian's second
audio update for the bizarre and terrifying story of
how they arrived there.) No sooner had they arrived than
they disappeared - from the deck of the Warrior up a caving
ladder to the Balaban.
The Balaban, unable to dock, moved away. We launched canoes.
The harbour became densely populated. The Balaban began
to leave the harbour and Cap'n Pete kept the Warrior between
the ship and the dock. Then the pilot on the Balaban hailed
us: he was taking the Balaban to anchor, and would we please
get out of the way. Pleased with the arrangement, we agreed.
(Pete explains the situation in his audio
update.)
So it is now 11:00pm and the Balaban is moored away from
her intended berth, unable to offload her cargo. Five climbers
are on board and have rigged banners. In fact, I am about
to join them in order to obtain audio updates for this web
site. I do hope I won't be facing any fire hoses. Stay tuned.
Meghan
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