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 MV
Greenpeace
The MV Greenpeace was originally an ocean-going tug and salvage vessel,
owned and operated in the Netherlands. In 1977, she was sold to the
Association of Maryland Pilots in the USA. During this period she
was refitted in Ireland to increase the size of the crew quarters.
During 1985 Greenpeace acquired her and prepared her for the task
of helping defend the planet and confronting corporate polluters around
the globe.
Her first task was to lead an expedition to the Antarctic to establish
a base camp and lead the Greenpeace campaign to have the continent
declared a "World Park" to preserve it from exploitation.
In preparation the hull was ice strengthened and the ship was refitted
and equipped for polar conditions. The deck was rearranged to allow
for more storage space above as well as below decks and was fitted
with hatches, lifting beams and a crane. Satellite communications
and sophisticated communication and navigational aids were added.
1986 saw the addition of a helicopter pad and over the next few years
she completed several voyages to Antarctica which culminated in the
historic agreement to protect the last great wilderness left on Earth
which became law in 1997.
 The
MV Greenpeace is also a veteran of the global toxics tour having taken
part in the tour first in Latin
America in 1998-99, then in Europe
during late 1999 and in the Mediterranean
during the summer of 2000. So it seems appropriate that she should
bring the curtain down on the last leg of the global tour here in
the Baltic and help usher in another historic agreement to eliminate
the 12 worst toxic pollutants which will see the first global step
on the road to a toxic free future.
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