DOWN TO ZERO BOAT TOUR
Regular Updates from the Crew aboard the Ship, MV Greenpeace.

SEPTEMBER 7- ROTTERDAM

All arrested activists, media people and crew were released on Friday August 27. After some small repairs resulting from the boarding, the MV Greenpeace sailed to Copenhagen for the weekend.

On Monday August 30, Greenpeace representatives handed over a letter to the Danish Minister of Commerce asking her to use her influence as a minister AND as a shareholder (the Danish government is a shareholder in DDS) to eliminate the dioxin emissions. Despite the fact that DDS refused to talk to Greenpeace and agree on a dioxin elimination programme, the action at DDS was a success.

It raised the public and political debate in Denmark on dioxins again. Furthermore, the authorities acknowledged that the dioxin emissions at DDS are a problem and that they needed to be monitored and reduced. The company did not respond to letters and calls from Greenpeace asking for a dioxin elimination programme, but as a result of this action DDS will probably be forced by the authorities to reduce their dioxin emissions through a raft of measures. Greenpeace will closely follow progress on this and intervene again if necessary.

It is now high time for the Danish government to start working on a national dioxin elimination programme. Denmark, as well as the other OSPAR countries and the EU, agreed as one of the top priorities to eliminate dioxins at the ministerial OSPAR meeting in Sintra, Portugal, last year.

After Denmark, the MV Greenpeace sailed to Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, where thousands of people visited the ship during open boat events on the international harbour days, September 3, 4 and 5.