Category: Climate politics

We’ve had lots of opportunities to observe operations on the drillship — often better at night when it’s all lit up. The difficulty is in interpreting what we are seeing. Support ships come in and out. Cranes transfer people in cages from one to the other. Other cages and pipes inside the derrick go up and down. Inflatables zoom around. Divers drop over the side of the NBD. I should have done oil drilling procedures 101 before coming out here. We understand they can’t while we’re so close but don’t know for sure. However, it is clear they are not drilling yet, despite saying they planned to start yesterday. Great statement yesterday from Labour leader David Cunliffe, about the huge risks of drilling — until you realise he hasn’t committed himself to anything. There is no policy to stop deep sea drilling. We need to keep working on Labour especially on the climate aspect.

Meanwhile the government is totally missing in action. Having rushed through draconian legislation to stop deep sea oil protests, they are taking no action to enforce it. We have heard nothing from the authorities. Anadarko has been hung out to die. Other oil companies interested in coming here will take note. They are missing in action on environmental protection. Simon Bridges says they are “putting the oil drilling industry through the wringer” yet their new EPA approved the emergency oil spill response plan without seeing it, let alone evaluating it. They are missing in action in their accountability to the public.

Having told the public deep sea drilling is no more dangerous than shallow drilling, though the consequences would be “significant”, Amy Adams has been caught out hiding a report showing it as seven times more dangerous and the consequences would “catastrophic”. It leaves one asking “who is in charge here?” Obviously, the US oil industry.

Day nine at sea, day seven on site, day four marking the ship. It would be mindlessly boring, day and night zigzagging alongside the ship, were it not for the excitement of updates from the campaign on land, the good company, and the occasional hilarious moment.

Last night, off the stern of the Noble Bob Douglas, Niamh yelled “Jellyfish, jellyfish!”

“That’s not a jellyfish, its rubbish.”

“No, it’s a bluebottle, Grab it with the boathook!”

So Bunny did. And as she hauled onboard a bubble some half metre across it started singing operatically to the tune of Handels Hallelujah chorus, complete with orchestra. “Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday!” Every time you poked it, the music began again. It seems they do birthday parties on the ship, and chuck their rubbish overboard.

Noble Bob Douglas looks like a cross between a battleship (massive grey hull, radars, bits and bobs) and one of my grandson’s intricate Lego projects (blue cranes, crates, derricks; yellow railings, drills stairways; white helicopter pad). The support boats look like giant malevolent tadpoles with fat squarish heads, and long wiggly tails.

We are also encouraged to hear of the mass mobilisation on so many oil free beaches tomorrow. The campaign is moving to land in a huge way. Watch out for simultaneous haka!

To find a beach near you, go to the oil free flotilla site or the Greenpeace Aotearoa site. This is enough for my patient scribe on the other boat. More serious stuff about the political situation later today.

Love you all,

Jeanette.

Blog post from Jeanette on Vega received at 08:30am thursday morning.
Apology for the blog free days.When Bunny and I reached our final destination and joined the Vega as co-skippers, we lost access to computer and e-mail. This is being transferred via radio to s/v Baltazar where Ros is kindly typing it up.

Since the drill ship Noble Bob Douglas arrived Tuesday morning with supply ship Hart Tide, we have been driving in small circles between them, within the 500 metre zone.

The other boats are watching from outside the zone. We can not visit them again without risking implicating them in our actions, and we haven’t rigged the sail to stabilise the rolling. There have been hours of extreme boredom and moments of exhilaration, especially learning most of the Arctic 30 have been bailed, and that Anadarko’s operation here is illegal, because the Environmental Protection Authority signed off their consent without sighting their emergency spill response plan which they are supposed to approve.

There has been great loss of dignity as the wind rose to 20 knots and our tight circles sent us barrelling from one wall to the other, and many bruises on heads, shins and shoulders. Last night, anger: as the second supply ship the Bailey Tide got sick of waiting 500m away all day and decided to dock with the drill ship, with us in between. Neither ship responded to our communications and requests for their intentions, and little wooden Vega was nearly squished between two giant steel hulls, closing in our narrow strip of water and squeezing us out like toothpaste. There is a lot of lawbreaking out here, and it mostly isn’t us.

I suggest you check the Oil Free Seas Flotilla and Greenpeace NZ websites for photo and video blogs. I may be able to send one more when we head back and rendezvous with the rest of the flotilla.

Over and out.

Jeanette