‘The last five years have not been great at Greenpeace’

With former Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson poised to lead US foreign policy, activists like Peter Willcox, skipper of the Rainbow Warrior, are needed more than ever. But are they losing their nerve?

Dawn was breaking when the campaigners used slingshots to fire ropes on to the rig. But as they began to scale the Prirazlomnaya, aiming to unfurl a banner denouncing Russia's attempts to drill for oil in the Arctic, their hopes of another successful Greenpeace "action" swiftly faded. They had been anticipating high-pressure hoses that sprayed freezing seawater at intruders. They weren't prepared for balaclava-wearing soldiers shooting at their inflatable boats.

One soldier grabbed the rope used by one of the climbers, slamming her body repeatedly against the rig. They captured two other activists. Then the Russians demanded to board the Greenpeace ship. But the Arctic Sunrise's captain, Peter Willcox, fearing his boat would be seized, resisted.