Esperanza

Rainforest timber shipment blocked in Papua New Guinea

Posted by jamie — 3 September 2008 at 5:49pm - Comments

A banner hangs from the Harbour Gemini which is carrying illegal timber from Papua New Guinea

A Greenpeace team occupies the Harbour Gemini, carrying illegal timber from Papua New Guinea and bound for China
© Sutton-Hibbert/Greenpeace

As we wait for the European Commission to consider legislation to prevent illegal timber from entering Europe, a Greenpeace team in Papua New Guinea have stepped in to prevent a ship from loading up with wood of dubious provenance.

The ship, Harbour Gemini, was loading timber at Paia Inlet in Gulf Province, when four activists from our ship the Esperanza climbed a loading crane to hang a huge banner reading 'Protect Forests, Save Our Climate'. Looking on were groups of local people in boats, while others held their own peaceful protests at the port and nearby logging camps.

Article tagged as: deforestation, esperanza, forests, illegal timber, papua new guinea, south east asia

Paradise saved - for now?

Posted by jossc — 2 September 2008 at 12:11pm - Comments

July 08: Greenpeace divers protesting against the planned oil shale mine

Greenpeace divers protesting against the planned oil shale mine

Australia has stepped back from the brink of madness and decided to shelve plans to mine oil shales right on the doorstep of the Great Barrier Reef.

Proposals to extract millions of tonnes of oil shales from the Whitsunday Islands threatened to drain precious water supplies, and to risk toxic leaching and air pollution - as well as increasing Australia's greenhouse gas emissions.

Fortunately, following a strong protest campaign led by the local Save Our Foreshore group, common sense has prevailed and last week Queensland premier Anna Bligh announced a 20-year moratorium, effectively ending the threat for the immediate future.

Article tagged as: co2 emissions, esperanza, great barrier reef, moratorium, oil shales, tar sands, whitsunday islands

Esperanza confronts world's biggest tuna ship

Posted by jossc — 27 May 2008 at 4:42pm - Comments

The crew of Esperanza taking action against the world's biggest purse seiner, the Albatun Tres

Our 25 metre long 'No Fish No Future' banner looks tiny alongside the giant Albatun Tres

After last week's good news about Pacific Island nations banding together to stop foreign fishing fleets decimating their tuna stocks, the crew of Esperanza yesterday took action against the biggest and most devastatingly efficient tuna catching vessel in the world, the Spanish owned purse seiner Albatun Tres.

Article tagged as: esperanza, marine reserves, oceans, overfishing, pacific, successes, sustainable seafood, tuna

Tide turns for Pacific tuna

Posted by jossc — 23 May 2008 at 12:32pm - Comments

Is the tide turning for Pacific tuna?

Hurrah! At last some good news for threatened Pacific tuna. Eight Pacific Island nations have signed an agreement to stop foreign fishing fleets taking their tuna. Our ship the Esperanza has been in the Pacific for the last seven weeks confronting unscrupulous foreign fleets that take 90 per cent of the fish, and even more of the profit.

Article tagged as: esperanza, marine reserves, oceans, overfishing, pacific, successes, sustainable seafood, tuna

Bering fruit - our expedition discovers a new species

Posted by jossc — 29 April 2008 at 11:13am - Comments

Video: the discovery of Aaptos kanuux

Fascinating news just in - our two month research expedition to the Bering Sea last summer led to the discovery of a new species. Using manned submarines and a Remote Operated Vehicle, the crew of the Esperanza explored two of the world's deepest underwater canyons and took samples of never before seen life on the sea floor. Now, careful analysis has revealed one of them to be an entirely new species of sponge. Discovered in Pribilof Canyon, the new discovery is to be named Aaptos kanuux.

Article tagged as: bering, destructive fishing, esperanza, marine reserves, oceans, overfishing, videos

Esperanza back in Tasmania after successful anti-whaling tour

Posted by jossc — 6 February 2008 at 5:26pm - Comments

Esperanza crew members watch as the ship moors at Hobart after the 2008 Southern Ocean tour

Yesterday at 3pm local time the Esperanza departed from Hobart in Tasmania, Australia bringing to a close the 2007/2008 Southern Ocean Expedition. The ship had arrived on Sunday evening to a great welcome from the people of Hobart, including the mayor and a number of councillors.

After spending close to two months tracking the Japanese whaling fleet, Esperanza was forced to leave the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary last week when her fuel supply started to run out. The sanctuary had remained fatality free for the whales during the previous fortnight while the Espy chased the factory whaling ship, the Nisshin Maru, across 5,000 miles of the Southern Ocean.

Article tagged as: esperanza, japan, oceans, ships, southern ocean, whales, whaling

Esperanza leaves Southern Ocean but whaling campaign continues

Posted by jamie — 29 January 2008 at 2:41pm - Comments

A Greenpeace inflatable prevents the Nisshin Maru refuelling from the Oriental Bluebird

A Greenpeace inflatable prevents the Nisshin Maru from being refuelled by the Oriental Bluebird © Greenpeace/Jiri Rezac

A few days ago, the Esperanza - which had been pursuing the Japanese whaling fleet for two weeks - was forced to quit the chase and head back to port as the ship is running low on fuel. But this year's Southern Ocean expedition has been a resounding success.

Article tagged as: esperanza, japan, oceans, ships, southern ocean, whales, whaling

Whalers blocked from refuelling in Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary

Posted by jossc — 22 January 2008 at 11:44am - Comments

A Greenpeace infalatable delays refuelling of the whaling ship Nisshin Maru

After eleven days successfully preventing the Japanese whaling fleet from killing whales in the Southern Ocean, the crew of the Esperanza were this morning able to inconvenience them still further by delaying the refuelling of their factory ship, the Nisshin Maru.

Article tagged as: esperanza, IWC, japan, oceans, ships, southern ocean, whales, whaling

Second whaling ship leaves the hunting grounds

Posted by jossc — 18 January 2008 at 4:36pm - Comments

Here's the latest video update from Esperanza, on patrol in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary protecting fin and minke whales from whalers, plus a blog update from Dave, our intrepid onboard webbie:

Article tagged as: esperanza, IWC, japan, oceans, southern ocean, whales, whaling

Esperanza drives whalers out of the Southern Ocean sanctuary

Posted by jossc — 14 January 2008 at 5:16pm - Comments

Greenpeace campaigner Sakyo Noda contacts the Japanese whaling fleet

Good news from Esperanza, our ice-class vessel on patrol in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. Yesterday the Espy had a face to face encounter with the Japanese whaling fleet's factory vessel, the Nisshin Maru, which was confronted close to the ice edge. As soon as they realised that we were in the area, the whalers put on speed and tried to get away.

After a high speed chase over hundreds of miles through fog and increasingly rough seas (see video clip below), the Esperanza this morning pursued the whalers north of the over the 60 degrees latitude mark - out of the Southern Ocean hunting grounds. The catcher vessel Yushin Maru also followed suit.

Article tagged as: esperanza, IWC, japan, oceans, southern ocean, whales, whaling

Greenpeace UK