Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior

In the 1970s and 80s, the Rainbow Warrior was used by the environmental organization Greenpeace for staging numerous protest actions. At the time of its destruction in 1985, the ship had been on its way to Muruora Atoll to protest France’s nuclear weapons testing. In Auckland harbor, French intelligence agents planted and detonated explosives, sinking the Rainbow Warrior. One activist died during the attack. The New Zealand authorities investigated and convicted two members of the French military security service. After UN arbitration, France paid over $8 million in compensation to Greenpeace and over $7 million to New Zealand. It also paid compensation to the victim’s family and officially apologized.