9 Jan 2013

New ship welcomed to NZ

12:01 pm on 9 January 2013

A new Greenpeace ship has been welcomed to New Zealand at the site where the first Rainbow Warrior now lies.

Greenpeace members, wellwishers and members of Ngati Kura were at a welcoming ceremony for the Rainbow Warrior 3 at Matauri Bay in Northland.

It will be open to the public in Auckland this weekend, before voyaging around New Zealand and then heading for Australia and Asia.

The original Rainbow Warrior was sunk in 1985 by the French intelligence service.

Greenpeace New Zealand executive director Bunny McDiarmid said the new vessel is purpose-built, with 1300 square metres of sail and a diesel-electric engine.

It was built in Poland and Germany for $NZ36 million and was launched in October 2011.