
A crew member died when French secret agents mined the Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior in Waitematā Harbour, Auckland.
The Rainbow Warrior had taken part 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. Two limpet mines attached to the hull of the ship created a massive hole that rendered the vessel useless. Photographer Fernando Pereira was killed when the second mine exploded while he was retrieving equipment after the first explosion.
DGSE officers Dominique Prieur and Alain Mafart were arrested while attempting to leave the country and charged with murder. After pleading guilty to manslaughter, they each received a 10-year prison sentence. Within a year, the pair were sent to French Polynesia, and from there they soon returned to France.
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 damaged 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 of the Rainbow Warrior (Greenpeace NZ)
- Rainbow Warrior sunk at dock sound file (Te Ara)
- The Rainbow Warrior and Mikhail Lermontov (Te Ara)
- The French in New Zealand (Te Ara)
- Nuclear-free New Zealand collection (NZ On Screen)
- Eyes of fire thirty years on (David Robie)
- The Rainbow Warrior: 30 years on (Stuff)
How to cite this page
'Rainbow Warrior sunk by French secret agents', URL: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/rainbow-warrior-sunk-in-auckland, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 13-Jul-2020