Captain Peter Willcox on MY Arctic Sunrise

Greenpeace, partnered with teams of independent scientists, used the MY Arctic Sunrise on a three-month expedition to conduct a series of scientific research programs to further understanding of the impacts of both oil and chemical dispersant on the Gulf ecosystem in the aftermath of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The BP leased drilling platform exploded on April 20 causing a leak of millions of barrels of oil from a wellhead one mile deep 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana. Finally capped in August, the leak was treated with more than a million gallons of Corexit, a toxic dispersant. In this second leg of the voyage, the ship sailed in transects around the leaking well site while scientists investigated the effects on plankton and marine mammals.