Greenpeace activists occupy research vessel in Wellington protest

Five Greenpeace activists occupied the state-owned research vessel Tangaroa in Wellington harbour on Saturday morning. The protest was aimed at New Zealand's involvement in US efforts to advance deep-sea mining. One activist wore a costume of US President Donald Trump and flew an American flag, while another held a 'Don't Mine the Moana' banner.

The Tangaroa, operated by Earth Sciences NZ, recently returned from the Clarion-Clipperton Zone in the Pacific. The vessel was conducting mineral survey work for Glomar Minerals, a US company, via its subsidiary UK Seabed Resources. Glomar Minerals stated the research was moving the company closer to the dataset needed for commercial recovery.

Greenpeace campaigner Juressa Lee said the group was concerned a government-owned vessel was being used for commercial exploration. Lee stated, "It's disturbing to see this vessel, which is owned by our government, being used to further American imperialism in the Pacific where resistance to this new form of extraction is strong".

By Saturday afternoon, police had removed the five protesters and were considering charges. Resources Minister Shane Jones described the protest as a "parasitic stunt" and stated that Greenpeace was trying to scare people. Earth Sciences NZ stated their work provides scientific research to improve understanding of deep-sea environments.

How it developed

• Sat 26 Sep, 2:40pmPolice removed the five protesters from the ship by Saturday afternoon and are considering charges.

Compiled from reports by NZ Herald, Stuff, 1News, Otago Daily Times and RNZ.