74KB GIF
or 34KB JPG. ©Greenpeace/Sims.
From: Crews of the Greenpeace vessels Altair and Solo
Date: Tues 20-JUN-95 10:31:11 GMT,
At 5 am this morning, when all was quiet on the Shell front, we prepared to fly two activisgs to Brent Spar and drop them on board to join the two already on board.
We decided last night, that if the weather was bad, and if Shell's vessels tried to fire their cannons at us, we wouldn't take the risk and would turn back. But it was a nice morning, if a bit windy, and as we approached the Spar we saw the position of the boats, and realized it was quite possible we could get them on board.
The two Shell support vessels, the Rembas and the Torbas, were at least 500 metres away from the Spar, with their water cannons turned off -- a rareity, which provided the perfect opportunity to attempt the drop. If they did see us, they were too far away to stop us .
The two men were high with excitement. They each had a bundle of supplies; food, clothes and radio equipment, that would last them quite a few days.
I hovered low over the helipad, but was unable to land because of the razor-wire strewn by Shell. Fortunatly, because they were tall were able to just step off the helicopter, safely onto the platform.
I am so pleased the whole thing went so smoothly, especially after the first helicopter drop almost failed after water cannons tried to knock them out of the sky.
The German pilot's who were taken in to custody are likely to be in court this afternoon, and we are waiting to find out what happens.
We have also heard a rumour that the police are on their way by
helicopter to make arrests, so we wait in anticipation.
74KB GIF
or 34KB JPG. ©Greenpeace/Sims.
From: the crew on the Solo
Time: 7pm
Foghorns blasted -- people jumped up and down cheering. The only
words to describe the feelings here are complete elation.
Two of our activists on the Spar, dismantled the explosives Shell
had planted, before returning to the Solo.
The time is 22.00 BST and the Brent Spar has just completed a 180 degree turn. She is now heading NE back the way she came. As you can imagine we are in a fantastic mood. The four heroes who occupied the Spar have come off - two have just returned to the Altair, and the other two have gone to the Solo.
"I saw the tugs which had been dragging the the rig slowly
turning around just then a huge rainbow opened in the sky - I
thought I was dreaming!" said an activist who was on board the Brent Spar.
We would just like to say hello to everyone and thank them for
all their efforts and hard work in making this whole thing
possible. It is all taking a little time to sink in, but it is
amazing what we can achieve if we all pull together.
Well done to everyone
Altair Crew
Time: 11am
Following the Spar we have now travelled 372 Nautical miles, which leaves 60 N miles to go before we reach the dump site. Our average speed is 1.6 knots. The wind is South westerly at force 7.
The pressure mounts as time ticks by. But Greenpeace, as ever will not give up till the very end. Two more activists were dropped on the Spar in the early hours of this morning.
It was beautiful this morning -- the sky was clear and bright. Seeing the helicopter fly across the horizon, without interferance from the water cannons, and dropping the activists safely on the platform was quite fantastic. Paula did a great job.
Shell will have to physically remove our activists, because they
are very determind and intend to stay on the Spar as long as they
possibly can. The heat is on.
The time is 10 pm and the Brent Spar has just completed a 180 degree turn. She is now heading NE back the way she came. As you can imagine, we are elated and incredibly emotional all at the same time.
We have been speaking to a number of journalists via the satallite phone. The Campaigner has almost lost his voice, he's been talking so much.
The four actvists who were occupying the Spar have returned to the Altair and the Solo. It sounds corny, but it is true to say this evening we saw, and took pictures of a rainbow over the Spar.
We would like to say hello to everyone out there on the internet, for their support in making this whole thing possible. It is all taking a little time to sink in, but it is amazing what we can achieve if we all pull together.
One of the protesters on the Brent Spar describes the moment he found out that Shell were not going to dump the platform:
We were sitting inside the Spar's compartment, when suddenly the water cannons just stopped. We walked out onto the platform to see if anything was happening.
On the Altair we could see little silhouetted figures dancing around. We couldn't figure out what was going, until the Altair radioed us and told us the great news.
After that moment an incredible rainbow appeared in the sky. Somebody later described the vision to look like a "film set", which it did, the light was amazing.
The three other actvists were air lifted by helicopter back to the Altair and the Solo, but I chose to absail down the Spar, for a boat to pick me up at the bottom.
I had always wanted to, but thought it wouldn't get the chance because if they dumped the Spar we wouldn't have left the rig on our own accord.
As I climbed down the installation I heard the fainting buzz of a radio. Since we had been on the rig we had made this radio out of bits and pieces, and chose to leave it on when we left as a final sentiment.
