Boarding the MV Etoile
Twelve Greenpeace volunteers have been arrested after they halted a giant cargo vessel laden with GM grain off the coast of Wales.
The 125,000 tonne MV Etoile was bound for Bristol, its GM cargo destined to be used as animal feed for the dairy farms which supply milk to Britain's biggest supermarkets.
Four climbers boarded the Panamanian registered vessel from a jet boat using climbing hooks. Hanging by ropes from the ship's sides and foremast, they unfurled banners reading saying 'STOP GM IMPORTS.' The Etoile was unable to continue safely and was forced to go to anchor off the Welsh coast at Rhoose.
After delaying the ship for two days, the action ended when police landed by helicopter and removed two activists hanging over the propellers at the stern of the ship, as shown in the photograph above. The Etoile was then able to continue it's journey into Bristol, where the remaining climbers were removed from the mast and arrested. This action is the latest development in our campaign against the major supermarkets who, despite repeated promises, have so far failed to remove GM-fed products from their lines. Sainsbury's, Tesco, Asda and Safeways all sell own-brand milk from cows fed on American genetically-modified crops.
Greenpeace campaigner Sarah North said: "Our climbers have stopped a massive GM cargo unloading in Bristol, but now we want this ship to turn around and go back to America. Supermarkets like Sainsbury's are supporting these shipments by selling milk from cows fed on GM. They said they'd keep GM off their shelves, but by supplying own-brand GM milk they're letting it in to Britain through the back door."
