See pictures of Greenpeace Esperanza ship spotted in Sunderland following fisheries research expedition in North Sea

Greenpeace’s former Russian fire-fighting vessel, the Esperanza, was spotted near Roker today, Wednesday, May 5 before docking at the Port of Sunderland for the night following a fisheries research expedition in the North Sea.

The ship, which has "spent the last 15 years fighting environmental emergencies for Greenpeace”, has docked in Sunderland to shelter from bad weather before heading back out on the North Sea.

The Esperanza is the largest and fastest vessel in the environmental group’s fleet.

In August 2020 the vessel turned up at the Brent field in the UK North Sea to protest against Shell’s oil rig decommissioning plans before appearing again in September last year where the ship pulled into the River Wear and sailed into Sunderland between the city’s two main piers.

Greenpeace activists from Germany launched the protest in the North Sea last summer to call out Shell’s plans to abandon an estimated 11,000 tonnes of oil in the sea.

A Greenpeace spokesperson informed the Echo that this sighting of the ship was following a research expedition in the North Sea that has been carried out over the last few weeks.

He said: “Esperanza has been on a fisheries research expedition in the North Sea for the last couple of weeks. She’s in Sunderland for the night to shelter from bad weather, before heading back out for a couple of days.”

Support your Echo and become a subscriber today. Enjoy unlimited access to local news, the latest on SAFC and new puzzles every day. With a digital subscription, you can see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Click here to subscribe.