Here is a Greenpeace campaign I hope you’ll support … if you read through this, click links, etc., you’ll see why my trying to summarize it for you would do it a great injustice… Please click through and support this campaign. Thanks!
One specific piece I believe is a lynch-pin great idea is in the logbook –– March 26: Flags of convenience… Spoiler alert: this is where tropical western Pacific Ocean Marshall Islands connect via Greenpeace efforts to Stop Shell in the Arctic Ocean! But I understand that without the context of the earlier pieces since about March 15th and even before then when the Greenpeace ship Esperanza sailed from Thailand, what I post only amounts to a ramble/rant/etc.
I wrote before about halting Shell actions to drill in the Arctic here, here, here, and here. Below here Greenpeace says, "We plan to bring as many people along with us as possible. Because the end of this journey is important, not just to Greenpeace, or to those of us sailing on-board the Esperanza right now, but to all of us who want the chance to avoid the consequences of disastrous climate change. If Shell moves ahead with drilling in the Arctic we are losing that chance. If Shell causes an oil spill in the Arctic we will lose important wildlife habitat and local traditional lifestyles dependent on a healthy ecosystem. These are not risks that we can take..."
Esperanza starts an interactive map website in Brunei Bay (southeast edge of South China Sea) near the Labuan Federal Territories (of Malaysia, off the west-northwest coast of Borneo in East Malaysia) capital city Victoria (an offshore financial center of international finance and business services via Labuan IBFC since 1990) and an offshore support hub for deep-water oil and gas activities in the region. Maybe that is where Esperanza actually found the oil rig it was hunting (maybe that's why the map starts there instead of where Esperanza was anchored before sailing or maybe that is to where Esperanza refers when it says, "we set sail from Thailand, heading East...").
Here is the Esperanza webcam
That’s it for background. The campaign and its adventure below is noteworthy! The interactive site I refer to as The Crossing is updated frequently. There you’ll find the “logbook” entries below. The logbook entries often include video and/or screen captures, links, etc. Check them often!
Here is a brief news article of March 27: An Extremely Attractive Group of Greenpeace Activists Is Stalking Shell Oil Rigs Across the Pacific Ocean and see: March 26th news Vanuatu Daily Post, the only daily newspaper in Vanuatu.
logbook –– March 23: LIVE, Shell's Arctic Oil Rig Dead Ahead Right now, I’m looking at Shell’s giant Arctic oil rig, the Polar Pioneer. Everyone standing onboard the Greenpeace ship, the Esperanza, is blown away by its size. We’re just a few miles away from Shell’s monster. Now we can expose it to the world. Towering atop its transport ship, the monstrous rig looks like a castle floating along at sea. The legs of the Polar Pioneer, topped with the sky-high pointed derrick, take on the form of castle walls and turrets in the distance - an Arctic siege tower.
It is enroute to the Alaskan Arctic, via Seattle. It’s set to arrive in 100 days. And we’re here to raise the alarm. At this point in the original source Logbook entry that I hope you click onto, there is: a 3 minute Video published Greenpeace on Mar 24, 2015 noting "In the middle of the Pacific, Shell's oil rig is on its way to the Arctic. Johno, Miriam, Andreas, Zoe, Jens and Aliyah are on board the Greenpeace ship Esperanza as ambassadors of the movement of millions against Arctic oil drilling. They hope that you will join them in shining a white hot spotlight on Shell."
Finding this enormous rig in the Pacific Ocean was no mean feat. Two weeks ago, we set sail from Thailand, heading East, on a course to converge with Shell’s infamous drill ship the Noble Discoverer. We had indications that it was likely to pass through the Balabac Straight, in the South China Sea, in a matter of days. But when we were nearly 24 hours away from reaching that potential rendezvous point, the Noble Discover, pulled anchor and disappeared. We didn’t know where it was, its course, or its speed. Would it even go for the Balabac straight, as we thought was most likely? Or had its original course just been a distraction, and now it would take a totally different route?
With a radar range of only 15-20 miles, inside the 3.5 million square kilometres of water that makes up the South China Sea, the Esperanza could very easily lose the Noble Discoverer completely. And then our journey would be over, almost before it began. The next few hours were tense. Finding and tracking a vessel is no easy task, even in the age of the internet. It’s possible they knew we were coming already and took steps to cover themselves and their course. With no clear route to track, the journey became a good old-fashioned game of cat and mouse. The night the Noble Discoverer drill ship disappeared from sight it felt like we were off to a bad start.
It’s hot and humid near the equator, even with a strong breeze off the sea. Onboard the Esperanza, crew decided to take it in shifts to stand out on the bridge in the blazing sun with binoculars and physically keep an eye out for the Noble Discoverer. Her funny shape, with the tall pointed derrick, could just be visible to a good set of eyes even at a great distance. So we lathered on sunscreen and squint into the horizon. Some cargo vessels are spotted easily, but no tall pointy ships.
After several hours, we suddenly had some good luck. A vessel appeared on our radar, a large one – an oil rig, but not one of the rigs destined for the Arctic. When it was close enough to be visible with binoculars it was easy to see that it was too tall to be the Noble Discoverer. But another, smaller, unidentified vessel was traveling beside it. On the bridge someone recognized the call sign of the unknown vessel, which automatically appears via localized AIS, necessary for vessels to be identified by local coast guard authorities. Traveling alongside this massive oil platform was none other than the Noble Discoverer.
Just like that we were back on track, the Arctic drill ship soon came into view with the telltale white and blue derrick jutting up into the sky. It may sound strange that a drill ship can be a welcome site on a Greenpeace ship, but in this case it was. The trip we are taking was about giving a platform to the millions of voices across the world who oppose offshore Arctic oil drilling
And our good luck didn’t run out either. The next morning another vessel came into view. Shell’s drilling rig the Polar Pioneer joined her partner vessel, sitting wide across the top of its transport ship, the Blue Marlin. We followed them both through the Balabac straight and into the Pacific.
Now we have the Blue Marlin in sight, carrying the Polar Pioneer on its submersible deck. The Noble Discoverer, the slower of the two, has fallen behind.
We plan to bring as many people along with us as possible. Because the end of this journey is important, not just to Greenpeace, or to those of us sailing onboard the Esperanza right now, but to all of us who want the chance to avoid the consequences of disastrous climate change. If Shell moves ahead with drilling in the Arctic we are losing that chance. If Shell causes an oil spill in the Arctic we will lose important wildlife habitat and local traditional lifestyles dependent on a healthy eco-system. These are not risks that we can take, especially while renewable energy technology is already rolling out across the world.
We have no indication that the Blue Marlin has taken any notice of us at all. We do not contact them by radio and they do not contact us. But the radio crackles to life one evening, as a local coast guard vessel calls the Blue Marlin and asking it to identify itself and list crew numbers and nationalities. These are standard questions for a coast guard to enquire of a ship. The Blue Marlin pauses, then radio’s back “Who’s asking?” The coast guard vessel identifies itself again and repeats the question. On the bridge of the Esperanza glances are exchanged. Is the Blue Marlin wondering if some other nearby vessel is really the caller? Like the Esperanza?
We don’t know if Shell’s drilling rig Polar Pioneer knows why we’re on their tail, but Shell is certainly aware that many people all over the world are against its Arctic drilling plans. Shell lost the ability to drill there in 2014 because of a court case brought by local Alaskan Indigenous and environmental groups. Its plan to house its drilling fleet in Seattle is under fire from local people there. In the face of this opposition, Shell’s CEO Ben van Beurden recently called people opposed to fossil fuels “naïve”. What really seems naïve is to think that you can jeopardize our chance to avoid the worst consequences of climate change without having to answer for that. Our journey is about calling Shell out on its reckless plans and we will need courageous people willing to call them out alongside us.
Every day, the drilling rig on our horizon is sailing closer to the Arctic.
And every day, the movement to stop Shell grows stronger.
- Laura Kenyon on board the Esperanza
logbook –– March 25: In Hot Pursuit, The Esperanza is passing through the waters of the Marshall Islands The Esperanza is passing through the waters of the Marshall Islands, nearing the middle of the Pacific Ocean. At last, we were finally able to reveal to the world where we are and what we are doing. It felt great!
We are hot on the tail of Shell’s Arctic oil drilling rig the Polar Pioneer as it heads up to Alaska, and we’re going to make sure it can’t sneak into the Arctic without millions of eyes on it.
The weather is a bit rough today, four and a half meter swells, which means we’re bumping into things and having trouble going up and down stairs (especially with coffees in our hands - dangerous!). A few of us feel a bit seasick, but for the most part we’re excited about all the support for our journey we’ve seen so far!
Already thousands of people are joining our journey online, where we are going to be tweeting and capturing every moment via live feed. Including Lucy Lawless! Who just sent a special message of support.
This journey is much bigger than just those of us on the ship, there are millions of people out there who want to protect the Arctic. Today there was a rally in front of the White House to remember the 26th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez disaster. Clearly Shell has not learned the lessons from that Arctic oil disaster. We were also able to send messages of solidarity to people in Seattle who oppose Shell’s plans to house its Arctic drilling rig in their port.
Don’t worry Seattle – we’re keeping a close eye on Shell’s Arctic oil driller the Polar Pioneer. The drill rig is a few miles off our starboard side right now, also enjoying the rough weather. We won’t let it out of sight! Stay with us! - Zoe Buckley Lennox
logbook –– March 25: Thank you Seattle! Today we received some personal video recordings from people in Seattle - Miriam Friedrich, onboard the Esperanza
logbook –– March 26: Flags of convenience, and the irony of drilling in the Arctic under the flag of a Pacific nation - Isadora Wronski, Climate and Energy Campaigner
As an aside to explain much on this crucial campaign, see the March 26th Vanuatu Daily Post, the only daily newspaper in Vanuatu: "It was revealed yesterday ..."
logbook ––
March 27: Our voice is growing louder, and big oil is fighting back - Laura Kenyon on board the Esperanza
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