peace

Part of the Trident: we don't buy it tour blog


A parliamentary vote to "replace" the Trident nuclear weapons system and tie Britain into having nuclear weapons for the next 50 years is being rushed through this Wednesday.

Part of the Trident: we don't buy it tour blog

Portia - volunteer
UK

The hospitality of Glasgow jails is a far cry from that of the Amazon, where I was working before joining the Arctic Sunrise as assistant cook come deck hand.

Part of the Trident: we don't buy it tour blog



A huge thanks to all the musicians, artists, crew and volunteers involved in last night's performance, and to everyone who came along to watch from the quayside - it was a special night here on the Thames!

Part of the Trident: we don't buy it tour blog

The fun's about to begin. Our ice-breaker has been transformed into a fully-fledged music venue. Lighting rigs, speakers, microphones, mixing desks, screens and crates of cables (approximately as heavy as the core of the sun) have been manoeuvred down slippery gangways, onto floating pontoons and set up on the ship's helideck. The soundcheck is happening now - the latest event on our Trident: we don't buy it tour is ready to go...

Part of the Trident: we don't buy it tour blog


© Greenpeace/Rezak

It's a funny old life being on a Greenpeace ship tour; one minute you're being boarded by police and put in solitary confinement for three days, the next you're being boarded by celebrities and working out the social niceties of how to address somebody with three titles before their name.

Part of the Trident: we don't buy it tour blog



After sailing around a substantial chunk of the UK's coastline - via Leith and then Greenock - we've finally reached London. I've entered the city by train, car, bus and bicycle before but I have to say, sailing into London beats them all. We slipped through the Thames Barrier and up past the Millennium Dome, Canary Wharf and the Docklands to our mooring spot by Tower Bridge, where we settled in and watched the lights come on over the London skyline. We're just 100-odd metres from the bridge so give us a wave if you go past (or better still, come and have a free tour of the ship this weekend - more info below)!

The government's figures hide the real cost of replacing Trident, with running cost estimates the real cost of replacing Trident is £76 billion. That is equivalent to over £4500 per British family.

Read our report to find out more

Part of the Trident: we don't buy it tour blog


Captain Waldemar back on the bridge at last.

As we speed along England’s southern coast, the mood is cheery onboard the Arctic Sunrise. The sea's calm, the sun’s out for the first time in days and the ship’s been scrubbed from bow to stern, mopped, painted and generally reclaimed from her extended stay with the Ministry of Defence. And, despite the delays, the we've made excellent time; we look set to reach London on time, where Mayor Ken Livingstone and others are waiting to welcome our Trident: we don't buy it ship tour to the city.