Brigitte Bardot at Civitavecchia: trimaran Sea Shepherd at the Port

Wednesday, May 18, 2016, the trimaran of Sea Shepherd "Brigitte Bardot" docks at the Port of Civitavecchia.

You don't know what this is? Sea Shepherd Global is an international non-profit organization, founded in 1977 by Paul Watson to pursue a noble mission: halting the destruction of yhe natural habitat and the massacre of the wild species of the oceans and protecting its ecosystem.

In 2010, the M/V Brigitte Bardot entered the fleet of Sea Shepherd. Brigitte Bardot is a monohull stabilized trimaran (35 meters for 14), which in 1998 established the world record in going around the world with eco diesel fuel.

The ship was originally called Gojira and coloured black, but shortly after, it was renamed after Brigitte Bardot, in honor of the actress and activist who supports the Organization since its birth.

After, the ship was repainted by assuming its current gray color, for strategic reasons and with symbolic icon of the actress on the side.

Brigitte Bardot

The Brigitte Bardot has participated in 3 Antarctic campaigns: Operation No Compromise (863 whales saved) Operation Divine Wind (768 whales saved) and Operation Zero Tolerance (932 whales saved).

Moreover, since 2010 to the present day, it has been the protagonist of many actions, especially in waters of the Faroe Islands (Denmark) to protect whales from the massacre known as Grind, in the South Pacific in Operation Requiem, where it opposed the mafia of shark finning-, the illegal practice of cutting fins of living sharks, in Guatemala to fight poachers who threatened the populations of marlins and in many other areas of the world as Cape Verde.

On October 10, 2014 it reached  Sicily to join Operation Syracuse, the first Campaign by Sea Shepherd Global in Italy with the aim of protecting the marine protected area of Plemmirio, in close collaboration with the local authorities.

If all this already if there seems to be just great, you must know that in the coming days you'll be able to visit the ship and meet the crew at the Port of Civitavecchia!

VISITING BRIGITTE BARDOT AND SUPPORTING SEA SHEPHERD

We have met the Brigitte Bardot crew (moored at dock 7, in front of Forte Michelangelo) and we have taken the chance to chat with Marianna Baldo, naturalist photographer and volunteer.

Hello Marianna, first of all, the most important information: opening hours and days of visit? 

We will be staying at Civitavecchia until June 2, 2016, after we will sail for an strictly Top Secret destination. The Brigitte Bardot can be visited in the next two weekends: May 21, 22, 28 and 29 from 10:00 to 11:30 in the morning and from 13:00 to 17:00 in the afternoon. The times are flexible in the sense that if you get slighlty late certainly we will not let you out.

What is the visit about?

We tell our visitors how the life of the Sea Shepherd crew is, the reasons for our struggles and how we act and obviously we will visit the ship. In the days of the visit we will also have a gazebo with our merchandising. Sea Shepherd lives of donations (even 5 per thousand), fundraising and material sales (t-shirts, caps, sweatshirts, but also books and keychains). Anyone can help us and support us by buying a souvenir at our gazebo!

On the web are many very emotional videos describing your actions. In your site you state to practice the tactic of direct action. What does this mean and how does Sea Shepherd act when you find yourself in front of an potentially illegal event?

Quite simply: we stay between the stick (the ship of poachers) and the animal being threatened. We risk our security, but knowing that we are saving a whale's or a dolphin's life is worth the effort and the danger.

Thanks Marianna, you can conclude the interview...

As our founder Paul Watson says, the Sea Shepherd is now a global movement, our motto is action makes a difference. I invite all readers of this site, the tourists at the port and the citizens of Civitavecchia and surrounding to come meet us to support us, learn more about us and our organization, or just to chat.

OFFICIAL SEA SHEPHERD STORE