A petition signed by three million people from around the world calling for a moratorium on deep-sea mining risks not being delivered to politicians at the United Nations Ocean Conference next week following a move made by French authorities to block a Greenpeace International vessel from entering the port of Nice.

Alongside the petition, the vessel – Arctic Sunrise – has been carrying members of the international environmental campaign group, all of whom had been invited by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs to participate in the Once Ocean Science Congress this week and the United Nations Ocean Conference, hosted by France, after.

While the vessel currently remains blocked from entering the port of Nice – where both the Congress and the Conference are being held these next two weeks – it is unclear on whether those individuals or the three million-signature petition will be making the event after all.

Greenpeace has called the move made by authorities to block the vessel “an act of retaliation” referencing a report the group released last week to highlight the weaknesses of France’s own network of Marine Protected Areas across the Mediterranean.

It was aboard the vessel that research into the protection measures was carried out.

“The French authorities’ attempt to silence fair criticism ahead of this UN Ocean Conference is clearly a political decision and is utterly unacceptable,” said Mads Christensen, Greenpeace International’s executive director. 

“Greenpeace and our ships have been working peacefully to protect oceans for decades. The Arctic Sunrise highlighted the failure of the French government to properly protect its Marine Protected Areas – where bottom-trawling is still permitted – and now we are being punished.”

Millions of people around the world have now joined Greenpeace’s campaign to stop deep-sea mining from starting. In 2023, the Arctic Sunrise crew took action at sea to bear witness to the threat of the deep-sea mining industry. 

They had peacefully protested against The Metals Company, which has been publicly accused of ‘environmental piracy’ by the French government a few weeks ago, given their attempt to bypass international law by requesting an exploitation permit through President Trump’s administration.

Greenpeace International had been invited to participate in the One Ocean Science Congress taking place in Nice this week as well as the Ocean wonders parade taking place ahead of the UN Ocean Conference which follows.

But last week, the official organiser of the maritime parade told Greenpeace International that it was no longer to participate with its ship, MY Arctic Sunrise on June 8th. Greenpeace International claims the ban had come “without any details”.

“France wants this to be a moment where they present themselves as saviours of the ocean while they want to silence any criticism of their own failures in national waters,” said Christensen. “We will not be silenced. We believe the voices of the three million calling for a stop to deep-sea mining must be heard in Nice.

“Greenpeace and the French government share the same objective, to get a moratorium on deep-sea mining, which makes the ban of the Arctic Sunrise from Nice even more absurd.”

The presence of the vessel would coincide with the 40th anniversary of the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior by French secret services in Auckland, New Zealand in which the photographer, Fernando Pereira died in the attack. Greenpeace’s flagship Rainbow Warrior had evacuated victims of American nuclear tests on Rongelap Atoll and was preparing to oppose French nuclear tests on Mururoa Atoll.

Greenpeace believe this UN Ocean conference will be “a key moment to galvanise support ahead of the July meeting of the International Seabed Authority”, the UN regulator on deep-sea mining.

Click here for more from the Oceanographic Newsroom.