Sea-dogs for peace

An overview of nonviolent maritime intervention in pursuit of peace and

justiceNovember 2012

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Mavi Marmara – Freedom Flotilla to Gaza, May 2010

Crowds at the funeral of one of the Turkish victims of the Gaza flotilla raid, at the Beyazit mosque in Istanbul.

An Israeli naval vessel patrols beside one of six ships bound for Gaza. 

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Nonviolent maritime intervention – a definition

Forms of nonviolent direct action involving some

type of water-borne activity intended to bring

about a change in a particular situation and

related activities considered to be threatening to

the well-being of particular populations.

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Types of nonviolent maritime intervention

• 1. Land-based actions targeting sea-going vessels in order to draw attention to a particular

issue, mobilise constituencies of support and have a direct impact on the issue itself.

• 2. Intercession: voyages intending to disrupt /stop a particular practice of international concern

by sailing into a specific zone where the activity is taking place, and in the process draw attention

to the issue of concern.

• 3. Mobilisation and persuasion: voyages where the aim is to draw attention to a grievance of

international concern and to mobilise people to act in response to that concern. Whereas this

type of intervention shares with intercessionary voyages the aim of drawing attention to a

particular issue and mobilising constituencies around it, such actions differ insofar as they are not

intended to interrupt or bring a halt to a particular practice or process by the act of sailing into a

particular area.

• 4. Humanitarian: voyages intended to deliver aid and support to those suffering from injustice

and violence.

• 5. Reconciliation: voyages intended to promote bridge-building between those divided by

destructive conflict and violence.

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1: Locally-based actions targeting sea-going vessels

(i) Actions by organised labour and trade unions

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Chinese ambassador to Australia unveiling Dalfram dispute memorial plaque, Port Kembla, December 2006

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Australian maritime unions protest Vietnam War

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1: Locally-based actions targeting sea-going vessels

(ii) Local actions by activist groups

targeting sea-going vessels

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Committee for Nonviolent Action activist climbs aboard newly launched nuclear submarine, Ethan Allen, 22nd November 1960

(Groton, Connecticut)

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Polaris Action Committee activists attempt to impede docking of US Polaris submarine, Holy Loch, Scotland, 1961

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Kayaks used to attempt entry to Faslane nuclear submarine base, Scotland (4th July 2005)

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Attempt to prevent arms-laden Pakistani freighter from docking, Baltimore, USA (July 1971)

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2. Intercession

• Voyages intended to intervene directly in order to

disrupt and otherwise frustrate activities deemed to

be harmful and threatening to well-being.

• By intervening directly activists seek to highlight

the issues of concern and mobilise others to take

action.

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Targeting nuclear weapon testing in the Pacific 1957-58

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Earle Reynolds & Phoenix of Hiroshima

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Don’t Make a Wave Committee, 1971 voyage to Amchitka (Alaska) aboard Phyllis Cormack

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The early days of Greenpeace – the voyage of Greenpeace III

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Greenpeace III about to be rammed by French naval vessel, Pacific Ocean, July 1972

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‘Save the whale’: Greenpeace in mid- 1970s

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Sea Shepherd – sunk 10 ships since 1978

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Greenpeace International: From amateur dramatics to large-scale productions – the occupation of Brent Spar oil-

storage buoy (1995)

3. Mobilisation and persuasion

Voyages where the aim is to draw

attention to a grievance of

international concern and to mobilise

people to act in response to that

concern.

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Palestinian Boat of Return sabotaged, Limassol Harbour, February 1988

[Shayetet 13], the Israeli naval commando unit that intercepted the Gaza Freedom flotilla, is one of the country’s elite military formations. … It is known to have been involved in numerous clandestine seaborne operations ….It was also involved in a curious foreshadowing of the Gaza incident in February 1988, when Flotilla 13 is reported to have sabotaged an attempt by the PLO to highlight the issue of Palestinian refugees by sailing a ship to an Israeli port, forcing Israel either to sink it or board it or let it land the refugees. The night before the vessel, al-Awda (”The Return”) was due to sail, it was blown up and sunk in Limassol harbour, Cyprus — with no loss of life or political embarrassment.

The Guardian, 31st May 2010

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Lusitania Expresso: Voyage to East Timor, 1992

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Flotilla of Hope to Nauru, 2004

4. Humanitarian

Voyages intended to deliver aid and support to those suffering

from injustice and violence.

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Evacuation & resettlement of inhabitants of radiation contaminated South Pacific atoll, Rongelap, by Greenpeace, May

1985

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Estelle, Swedish ship to Gaza, October 2012

5. . Reconciliation:

Voyages intended to promote bridge-building between those divided by destructive conflict and violence.

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The Voice of Peace: 1973 - 1993

Name of ship: M/V PeacePosition: Anchored 3 miles off the coast of Tel-AvivFrequencies: 1540 kHz AM 100 Mhz FM

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The Peace Boat

Peace Boat's first voyage was organized in 1983 by a group of Japanese university students as a creative response to government censorship regarding Japan's past military aggression in the Asia-Pacific. They chartered a ship to visit neighbouring countries with the aim of learning first-hand about the war from those who experienced it and initiating people-to-people exchange.

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Concluding observations• 1. Celebrate the tradition of nonviolent direct action – people who are moved to act directly on

an issue rather than leave it to the politicians. (Bigelow: ‘I am going because I have to if I am

to call myself a human being.’)

• 2. Through their prophetic actions these ‘unbalanced people’ have frequently raised issues

and touched chords that have resonated with wider constituencies.

• 3. In general we can see that there has been a change over time – from small scale actions by

committed activists/volunteers to larger scale operations.

• 4. Much of the power of these interventions comes from the dramatic highlighting of a

particular issue in a manner which provokes particular types of emotions in audiences that can

mobilise them to action. In this regard modes of communication are central – and

developments of communications technology have had a powerful impact on such actions. 50

years ago people had to rely on ship-to-shore radio, now they can send footage direct from the

phone to the TV station.

• 5. Is it possible to identify changing foci of concern – raises question of which issue will attract

the attention of maritime activists in the future.