The MV ''Greenpeace'' (formerly (1959–1977) and since 2002 known as the ''Elbe'') was a

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...

ship built in 1959 as an oceangoing tug/salvage vessel. She was purchased by Greenpeace in 1985 from the Maryland Pilotage Company, the vessel then being named MV Maryland, and transferred back to the Netherlands to be refitted with modern equipment before being recommissioned. She took over from the first ''Rainbow Warrior'', which had been sunk in 1985 by French commandos. In 2001 she was replaced by the MV ''Esperanza''.

Ordering and construction

On 14 October 1958 J. & K. Smit launched the sea-going tug as ''Elbe'' for

Smit International Smit Internationale N.V. (or Smit International) is a Dutch company operating in the maritime sector. The company was founded in 1842 by Fop Smit as a towage company with only the 140 horsepower paddle steamer tug ''Kinderdijk''. Fop's sons, J ...

Career

During her 15 years of service with Greenpeace, the ''MV'' or ''Black Pig'' as she was known by her crew, circumnavigated the globe several times, participating in numerous campaigns. Her first deployment was as part of the "World Park Antarctica" campaign but following the sinking of the Warrior, she was diverted en route from Europe to New Zealand via the Panama canal, to first participate as part of a peace convoy protesting against French Nuclear Testing at Moruroa Atoll, before continuing to carry on with the Antarctica campaign as planned. The next decade and a half saw her involved in Greenpeace campaigns around the world, from the Persian Gulf to the Antarctic. Whilst participating in protests against the US testing of

Trident missile The Trident missile is a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) equipped with multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRV). Originally developed by Lockheed Missiles and Space Corporation, the missile is armed with thermonucl ...

s in 1989, the ''Greenpeace'' was rammed by the US Navy vessel, the USS ''Kittiwake'' (ASR-13) multiple times. In late 1993 crew aboard the ship exposed Russian ships dumping 900 tonnes of liquid radioactive waste into the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...

. Protests against the resumption of French nuclear testing in

French Polynesia )Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze") , anthem = , song_type = Regional anthem , song = " Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui" , image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of Frenc ...

followed in 1995. During this time the vessel was boarded and detained by French police in international waters. The ''Greenpeace'' was replaced in 2001 by the MV ''Esperanza''. She has since been reconverted to her original form as the ''Elbe'' and is now a museum ship in Maassluis.Career of ''Esperanza'' and replacement of ''Greenpeace''

References

All Greenpeace ShipsVideos of Elbe
Ships built in the Netherlands 1959 ships Ships of Greenpeace Museum ships in the Netherlands {{ship-stub