Rainbow Warrior in Whangārei at start of celebratory voyage

The Rainbow Warrior near Whangarei Heads.

A ship with an unmistakable green hull and a rainbow painted on its side in the shape of a bow wave has slipped quietly into Whangārei Harbour.

Greenpeace's flagship, the Rainbow Warrior, arrived in the harbour yesterday where it will rest and tidy up after a 35-day transit from Singapore, and prepare for its Oil Free Seas voyage around New Zealand.

Whangārei is the first port of call on the visit to celebrate the New Zealand Government's recent ban on new oil exploration permits and to promote clean energy opportunities.

Greenpeace climate campaigner Kate Simcock said: "New Zealand's oil and gas ban is a huge win for people power, and for the climate. Four million square kilometres of ocean is now off limits to the world's biggest dirty-energy companies."

A new crew of mostly Kiwi personnel will be brought to Whangārei to learn the ship's ropes before setting sail on the voyage to Auckland, Whangaparaoa, Napier, Wellington, Taranaki, Kaikoura and Dunedin.

At those ports Greenpeace staff will be on shore promoting its clean air and seas campaigns, and hosting functions with invited guests on board.

The ship will not be open or in campaign mode while at Whangārei, but Greenpeace will launch its Oil Free Seas voyage at Matauri Bay on September 10 before sailing further south.

Simcock said the crew and Greenpeace personnel will visit a marae and will throw a wreath into the sea where above where the former Rainbow Warrior lies.

It was bombed by French secret agents in Auckland in 1985, and later scuttled off Matauri Bay.