Rainbow Warrior III sets sail!

Environmental charity Greenpeace has launched its brand new ship, the Rainbow Warrior III.

This week, the vessel made its maiden voyage up the River Thames in London. Thom Yorke from the band Radiohead and Damon Albarn from Gorillaz were on board.

The new Rainbow Warrior is one of the most environmentally-friendly ships ever made. The ship and its crew sail the world, protecting the environment and campaigning on green issues, like climate change.

Greenpeace says the ship runs mostly on wind power. It moves as fast as most other ships its size, with action boats that can be deployed in minutes – even in waves up to 3.5 metres high! The Warrior does have electric engines to help out when it’s not windy enough, but the heat from the engines is also used to heat water on the ship and warm the cabins.

The ship has a helicopter landing pad on board too, so Greenpeace can keep an ‘eye in the sky’. This helps them to spot activities that damage the environment, like illegal fishing and logging. 

The Rainbow Warrior 3 replaces the old Rainbow Warrior 2, which has been turned into a hospital in Bangladesh.