Greenpeace activists have boarded a state-owned New Zealand research vessel in Wellington after it returned from deep sea mineral exploration work in the Pacific.
Activists occupied the Tangaroa this morning, with one dressed as US President Donald Trump and flying an American flag, while another held a banner reading "Don’t Mine the Moana".
Greenpeace said the protest was aimed at highlighting New Zealand's involvement in US efforts to advance deep sea mining.
The Tangaroa, operated by Earth Sciences New Zealand, recently returned from the Clarion-Clipperton Zone in international waters, where it carried out mineral survey work.
The research was conducted for UK Seabed Resources, a subsidiary of US company Glomar Minerals, which said it intended to begin commercial exploitation of the seafloor as early as 2027.
Greenpeace Aotearoa campaigner Juressa Lee said the group was concerned a government-owned vessel had been used for the work.
"It's disturbing to see this vessel, which is owned by our government, being used to further American imperialism in the Pacific where resistance to this new form of extraction is strong," she said.
Lee said deep sea mining risked causing irreversible damage to the ocean and called on New Zealand not to be involved in efforts to begin commercial extraction.
“While the rest of the world is still debating if deep sea mining should even be allowed to go ahead, Trump has gone rogue. He’s decided that the US will just start mining regardless of international laws, and the rights and interests of the communities who rely on the ocean.
"New Zealand must not be complicit in this."
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order last year aimed at accelerating deep sea mineral exploration and commercial recovery.
New Zealand has supported a conditional moratorium on deep sea mining in international waters since 2022.
The Tangaroa was also occupied by Greenpeace activists in 2015 to protest against its use by the oil industry for exploration work.
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