The Bermuda Triangle is in an area of the Atlantic called the Sargasso Sea – the only sea without a land border.
It’s a place full of wonder; a golden floating rainforest home to turtles and whales and a nursery for even more incredible creatures.
Unfortunately, industrial fishing, plastic pollution and climate change are threatening this unique habitat.
Greenpeace activists and campaigners have just arrived in the Sargasso Sea, ready to work with incredible scientists, local Bermudian conservationists and political figures. Check out the Ship’s Log below, updated day by day.
Together, we’re making the case that the Sargasso Sea needs to be properly protected – as one of the first ocean sanctuaries on the high seas under the Global Ocean Treaty.
Surveying seabirds and underwater soundwaves
En route to Bermuda, two local seabird conservationists joined the ship to document the different types of seabirds common to the Sargasso, and to determine if there has been any evident species loss.
They recorded eight species including a European Storm Petrel and Manx Shearwaters, which both nest in the British Isles but migrate to the Sargasso to feed.
Now the Arctic Sunrise has docked in Hamilton, Bermuda, on the edge of the Sargasso Sea, where our next job will be surveying cetaceans – these are aquatic mammals like whales, dolphins and porpoises.
Using an underwater microphone local scientists will analyse the creatures’ sounds to record how many of each species there are and where they are in the Sargasso Sea.
Greenpeace’s latest expedition: one year, two ships, seven stops – and boatloads of ambition
Throughout 2024 and 2025, Greenpeace ships are sailing to several ecologically-significant locations around our beautiful blue planet.
Our iconic vessels will be spotted all round the world – from the deep sea plateau of Lord Howe Rise, south of Australia, to the vast underwater mountain range of Emperor Seamounts – the highest parts of which form the islands of Hawaii!
As only Greenpeace can, we’re working with world-renowned experts and local people to highlight to governments why these precious areas need protecting. As they all fall outside of national boundaries, countries will have to work together to preserve them.
What do Greenpeace ships do?
The founding voyage
Activists set sail in 1971 to Amchitka island in an old boat called The Greenpeace to protest nuclear testing. Many victories since have been thanks to our ships.
Music at the top of the world
In 2016, the Arctic Sunrise took pianist Ludovico Einaudi and his grand piano for a performance on ice floes in the Arctic.
Building boulder barriers
Greenpeace ships were used in UK and Swedish waters to create extremely effective ‘boulder barriers’ to stop destructive fishing.
Taking youth activists to COP26
In 2021, the Rainbow Warrior brought youth activists from areas most affected by climate change to COP26 in Glasgow, to demand world leaders “stop failing us” climate.
This sounds like a daunting challenge, but one of our first ports of call, the Galápagos Islands, already boasts an impressive marine reserve.We saw firsthand how nature was flourishing inside its boundaries, contrasted with the evident species loss just outside. While we were there, we did scientific testing and tracked migratory species to make the case for other similar ocean sanctuaries across the globe.
“It’s a unique privilege to assist local scientists with work that will lead to more areas being protected – providing our politicians act to sign the Global Oceans treaty into law. ”
Sophie Cooke, Lead Investigator on the expedition’s work in the Galápagos
Ship’s Log
20 May 2024
10:00 – Political workshop with Fishermen’s Association of Bermuda, environmental organisations and various Bermudian delegates, including the deputy premier. Went very well!
14:00 – Debrief with campaign team and crew.
18:00 – Ship leaves Bermuda on a course across the Atlantic to Spain!
19 May 2024
11:00 – Visit to Nonsuch Island – a great example of a well-maintained natural marine area, completely cared for my local Bermudians. A very beautiful place! Team still found plastic in the water sadly and retrieved it.
18 May 2024
10:30–18:30: Open Boat
Lots of fun things to engage locals:
Talks from youth activists and local environmental groups.
Making placards and colouring in fish and turtle pictures for kids.
Exhibition of marine environments we’re visiting this year, and the threats they face.
A giant inflatable pink octopus to have your photo taken with!
300–400 people came to tour the boat and hear from the crew and campaign team!
17 May 2024
Prep day for open boat.
12:00 – BBC (Bermuda Broadcasting Company) came to interview Briony and have tour of ship.
16 May 2024
11:00 – Ship docks back in Hamilton, Bermuda.
13:00 – Open letter sent out to Bermudian audiences to engage them around protecting the Sargasso Sea.
15:00 – All briefing packs for attendees of the political workshop have gone out.
19:30 – Noelle and youth delegation had crew over for dinner to say thank you!
15 May 2024
11:00 – Great meeting with Sargasso Sea Commission, a key environmental organisation in Bermuda.
14:30 – Political campaigner does a school talk on invitation of Bermudan Fishing Association about Greenpeace’s work in the Sargasso Sea.
16:00 – Photo taken with large banner on board the ship.
17:30 – Campaigner did radio interview with Australian radio station.
18:00 – Weather tomorrow coming into Hamilton looks very windy, so steaming ahead now. Captain a bit worried. May get back tonight or tomorrow morning. There is a coordinate point on our way where we may see some Sargassum.
14 May 2024
09:30 – Sperm whale sighting!
12:00 – RHIB trip with journalists, doing eDNA testing, hydrophone, video interviews with campaigner
13:00 – Drone filming.
14:30 – completed a huge banner for the ship and hand banners for photo opportunities in the RHIBs
15:00 – Filmed an explainer video on how the hydrophone works for our social media channels.
No Sargassum spots today
13 May 2024
07:00 – Ship is travelling across Sargasso Sea
11:30 – Spotted: large tangle of fishing net (ghost gear), which got tangled around the Arctic Sunrise’s propellor. 2.5hr delay. Camera crew got in scuba gear, cut it all out and captured footage. No damage to the ship.
14:00 – Took drone photos on deck with banner and fishing nets
19:30 – Started to see longer lines of sargassum seaweed 1 mile out from coordinates. Launched boats at sunset to document.
23:00 – Drifted all night, 12 miles west of that point
– Zahra, youth activist, having some wonderful experiences and is well and happy!
12 May 2024
08:00 – We are now on our last leg of the expedition, going back out to sea to search for Sargassum seaweed and wildlife for visuals and have a youth activist from Bermuda joining us. Aiming for 300 miles south of Bermuda. It’s a quest – we may not find any.
14:00 – Great meeting with the Sargasso Sea Commission
11 May 2024
09:00 – We joined a beach clean with local organisation Keep Bermuda Beautiful and were joined by the governor and her husband/aide. Sadly, lots of plastic and rubbish on the beach. Resh (political campaigner) and Briony (oceans campaigner) spoke with the governor about our campaign which was received well and interviews were recorded for BBC (Bermuda broadcasting company).
10 May 2024
– We have had a brilliant time with Dan from Bastille during his time on board. He got stuck right in with helping with scientific work. He also helped with everyday tasks (cleaning etc) and was very comfortable with the crew.
– We had Noelle onboard, our youth activist lead and has been working with GPUK in the run up to the tour. She represented Bermuda’s efforts in ocean protection and the importance of Bermuda being involved with the Greenpeace campaign – our collaborative approach has harnessed strong relationships.
9 May 2024
09:00 – Travelled far out as windy around Bermuda.
10:30 – Round of intros with crew.
13:30 – launching Rhibs (Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat) for eDNA sampling
16:00 – Dan from Bastille has a swim and interviews campaigners about why the Sargasso Sea is such an important marine environment.
8 May 2024
9:30 – Dan from British pop band Bastille arrived! He is on board to use his platform to share our message to world leaders that our oceans must be protected.
11:00 – Liason with our amazing local youth activist coordinator.
15:00 – All the kit and other guests arrived…eventually!
16.30 – Left port in Hamilton.
7 May 2024
– Today is a busy day for the team! We are docked right in the centre of Hamilton, Bermuda, perfect for our events. We’ve been received well and the crew had a day off yesterday whilst the campaign team have been busy preparing for a VERY busy week ahead!
– School visits: over 30 children are having a tour of the Arctic Sunrise today to learn more about Greenpeace and our work.
– Our oceans campaigner, Briony is giving a presentation to Bermuda Rotary Club to introduce why Greenpeace is here and the importance of the Sargasso work.
– This evening we have a reception for civil society event with 40-50 guests including scientists, governments, fishers, NGOs, the First Nations community and more. We understand that it’s the first time a lot of key players will come together in one space to discuss the environment, prepping us well ahead of our MPA workshop that we will be hosting at the end of the tour.
– Prepping for our celeb musician to join us onboard tomorrow, before we head back out to sea with him for a few days.
– An Observer journalist is here to tell the story of David Wingate, an eminent conservationist on Bermuda who rediscovered the cahow (Bermuda petrel) in the 1950s, thought to be extinct for 400 years. His conservation efforts are an extraordinary success story so we’re thrilled to be facilitating this. The story has a fairly long lead time, but we’ll share it once live.
6 May 2024
Dropped anchor in Hamilton, Bermuda
5 May 2024
08:00 – Deployed hydrophone (A microphone that can be used to record sound underwater)
08:30 – Last e-DNA test.
11:00 – Recorded whale song!
21:00-08:00 – Some of team on night watch.
Ship getting close to Bermuda…
4 May 2024
8:00 – Pulled in hydrophone and analysed results.
08.30, 13:30, 17:30 – e-DNA (studying the traces of genetic material that creatures leave in the water as they swim through to measure biodiversity in that part of the ocean) testing.
11:30 – Onboard briefing session for Bermuda culture dos & don’ts with whole crew (supported our local activist).
14:30 – Cameraperson captured images of a dolphin fish. Conservationists very happy with seabird sightings so far. Saw many whales from deck!
3 May 2024
8:00 – Pulled in hydrophone and analysed results.
08.30, 13:30, 17:30 – e-DNA testing.
14:30 – More whales spotted from deck .
2 May 2024
08:30 – First eDNA testing in the Sargasso Sea, then 13:30 and 17:30 every day.
12:00 – First small mat of Sargassum seaweed spotted, teeming with crabs and (unfortunately) plastic.
13:30 – Pod of around 20 short-finned pilot whales spotted from deck!
19:00 – Hydrophone deployed to listen for cetaceans over night.
1 May 2024
07:00 – Seabird survey begins, every day at sunrise (7:00) until sundown (20:00).
All day – Most of team down with sea sickness! Usual in first 24 hours on board.
30 April 2024
14:00 – Scientists and activists on board. Arctic Sunrise launches from Nassau, the Bahamas, sets course for five-day transit N/NE across the Sargasso Sea to Hamilton, Bermuda.