Oil Free Seas Flotilla Returns to Auckland

Four of the six yachts which made up Oil Free Seas Flotilla arrive back in Auckland after almost three weeks at sea. From left, SV Vega, Shearwater II, SV Friendship and SV Baltazar. They were protesting against oil giant Anadarko drilling at a site over 100 nautical miles off the west coast of New Zealand, and in waters around a kilometre and a half deep. The Greenpeace sponsored yacht SV Vega spent seven days inside the 500 metre exclusion zone as the drillship prepared to start drilling. SV Ratbag returned to her home port in the Bay of Islands while SV Tiama is heading south. The flotilla is a coalition of individuals and boat owners who oppose deep-sea drilling and the new legislation that takes away New Zealanders long-standing right to peacefully protest at sea.