The Greenpeace ship was torn apart by two bombs planted by French secret agents. A Portuguese crew member, Fernando Pereira, was killed.
The Rainbow Warrior had been involved in protests against French nuclear testing in the Pacific. French Secret Service (DGSE) agents were sent to prevent it leaving for another protest campaign at Mururoa Atoll in the Tuamotu Archipelago. Following the attack, two DGSE officers, Dominique Prieur and Alain Mafart, were arrested on 24 July.
Both were charged with murder, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and were sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment. The case caused the French government considerable embarrassment. While the attack was on an international organisation and not New Zealand as such, most Kiwis did not make this distinction. The fact that it was carried out on New Zealand territory by a supposedly friendly nation caused outrage and seriously compromised relations between New Zealand and France.
Read more on NZHistory
Sinking the Rainbow Warrior – Nuclear-free New ZealandNew Zealand crime timeline – Crime timeline1985 - key events – The 1980s
External links
- Rainbow Warrior (Christchurch City Libraries)
- The bombing and sinking of the Rainbow Warrior (Greenpeace)
- Rainbow Warrior bombing (NZ Herald)
- Rainbow Warrior sunk at dock sound file (Te Ara)
- The Rainbow Warrior and Mikhail Lermontov (Te Ara)
- French in New Zealand (Te Ara)
- Nuclear Free New Zealand collection (NZ On Screen)
- Rainbow Warrior - Breaking the story of a generation (NZ Herald)
- Eyes of fire thirty years on (David Robie)
- The Rainbow Warrior 30 years on (Stuff)
How to cite this page
'Rainbow Warrior sunk in Auckland harbour', URL: /em-rainbow-warrior-em-sunk-in-auckland, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 15-Jun-2016
