From: SV Rainbow Warrior
Date: Thursday 6-JUL-95
Subject: Diary Update

FRENCH WARSHIP REFUSES CONTACT WITH RAINBOW WARRIOR

Pacific Ocean, Thursday July 6 1995:- A French warship tracking the Rainbow Warrior en route to Moruroa atoll has refused to make either radio or physical contact with the Rainbow Warrior.

The vessel, most likely a frigate, has maintained a distance of between eight and 12 miles from the Rainbow Warrior for more than 24 hours. This morning, Captain Dave Enever launched an inflatable to deliver a letter and small gift to the captain of the navy ship, and also attempted to make radio contact with the vessel.

The vessel refused to respond to the radio call and steamed briskly in the other direction at a rate of 20 knots when a Greenpeace inflatable got within six miles of it. When it was clear the French vessel had no intention of permitting the inflatable to catch up with it, the inflatable was recalled to the Rainbow Warrior.

Greenpeace's Stephanie Mills said the surveillance by the French navy vessel clearly indicated that the full resources of the French navy would be deployed against Greenpeace's peaceful protest. The vessel failed to comply with international maritime regulations, as it steamed last night without navigational lights on, but was clearly visible on the Rainbow Warrior's radar.

"We hope that President Chirac is not as deaf to the international community as this vessel has been to our courtesy call," she said. "France's own interests will be endangered if President Chirac does not steer a course away from nuclear testing."

The letter from Captain Enever to the captain of the naval vessel read:

"From one seafarer to another, I send you and your crew warm greetings from myself and all on the Rainbow Warrior. We aboard the SV Rainbow Warrior bear no ill feelings to you as fellow human beings; we are in the area to bear witness on behalf of the people of the South Pacific and the world who oppose the testing and development of nuclear weapons. This is not a protest against France, but against nuclear testing: France's resumption of nuclear testing could be the excuse for Great Britain, the US and Russia to resume testing, dangerously undermining progress towards a comprehensive test ban treaty."

77KB GIF or 26KB JPG. ©Greenpeace/Morgan

77KB GIF or 24KB JPG. ©Greenpeace/Morgan

The Rainbow Warrior is currently 270 miles west of Moruroa, and is expected to arrive off the 12 mile exclusion zone around the test site within the next 72 hours.
ENDS

Further information: Stephanie Mills, Jean-Luc Thierry, Steve Sawyer, aboard the SV Rainbow Warrior ph +872 1300312