30 June 2025
Sealord’s GM of Operations Rui Ventura says the company is deeply troubled about an incident that happened at sea when Greenpeace demonstrators were vandalising the deepsea fishing company’s vessel the Ocean Dawn while it was fishing on the Chatham Rise.
“We are very concerned at the close call that happened while the Ocean Dawn was actively fishing, and the other potential risks to Greenpeace’s demonstrators as they painted graffiti on our 64m long boat. If their small z-boat malfunctioned or someone fell off, they would have been dragged to the back of the vessel, into the wires and down into the water, which would likely have been fatal,” Ventura said.
“They also positioned themselves under the Ocean Dawn’s factory water sump outlet, which meant water poured onto them when the factory sump’s automatic float switch self-activated,” he said. See video footaged here.
“With sump water falling from the Ocean Dawn, someone from Greenpeace could have been knocked out of the boat and potentially sucked underneath our vessel. In addition, there is steel belting just above the waterline on the Ocean Dawn, which protrudes out around 200mm. In a sea surge the nose of the Greenpeace z-boat could have been forced underwater, with the risk of flipping their craft. Our crew would have been obliged to rescue the occupants, putting them at risk too.
“It just shows that they have no idea how these vessels operate – there are a number of automatic operating functions, so if you don’t know how things work, getting up close to, and in contact with, a moving large fishing vessel in the deep sea is very unsafe.”
A similarly risky incident
The dangerous behaviour of Greenpeace is not unprecedented, says Ventura.
Sealord has taken a statement from the skipper of another Sealord vessel, the Thomas Harrison, which was shadowed by Greenpeace’s Rainbow Warrior yacht in Cook Strait on 24 June 2025.
Ventura explains: “The skipper of the Thomas Harrison, a highly experienced mariner, was alarmed by the Rainbow Warrior’s unsafe decisions. Although the Greenpeace skipper agreed to move their vessel to a safer distance, they then launched an inflatable boat.
“Given the rough weather and 30-knot winds, it was exceptionally dangerous for a small inflatable. The boat crew insisted on staying upwind, which meant losing control could have sent them drifting into our nets, posing serious risk.
“The inflatable then chased the Thomas Harrison at high speed in rough conditions (presumably to get footage), causing it to bounce dangerously and risk flipping over. Our skipper says he would never have put a small boat out in the rough conditions that day, and feared he would have to rescue the Greenpeace crew if something had happened, just for a photo opportunity with a sign they were holding up.”
These two incidents are in addition to Greenpeace shadowing and then vandalising a Talley’s vessel on Friday.
Ventura says, “We understand that this is how this organisation gets attention, but the danger to lives is simply not acceptable. Our crew are out there focussed on doing their jobs and they do not want people carrying out dangerous, attention seeking activities to be unintentionally injured or potentially killed.”
Sealord will be laying complaints with the appropriate authorities.
Please see information about Sealord’s fishing practices here: Fishing Practices – Sealord Sustainable Methods New Zealand
