Protest ship changes roles

As befits an environmental group, Greenpeace has carried out some recycling on a grand scale.

It has retiring its ship the Rainbow Warrior II from active duty as a protest vessel against nuclear testing and whaling and has given it to a Bangladesh based charity called ‘Friendship’ to be refitted for use as a hospital ship serving patients around the coastal areas of Bangladesh, and in the Bay of Bengal.

Runa Khan, Executive Director of Friendship, explained their plans for the vessel: “The front part is going to be renovated into two operating theatres with a dental unit and an eye unit and all primary level outdoor patient work and secondary level operations.”

As well as a new role the ship has a new name ‘Ronghonu’, which means rainbow in Bengali.

A new vessel ‘Rainbow Warrior III’ is currently being built in Germany and will be launched to mark Greenpeace’s 40-year anniversary in October.

Greenpeace campaign manager Gloria Chang said the organisation is pleased to see the ship continue working in an environmental capacity. “Greenpeace is so happy to see that ‘Rainbow Warrior’ today is going to enter her new phase of life by serving the communities in Bangladesh, which are heavily affected by climate change and extreme weathers,” Chang said.

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