Image Credits: Greenpeace Greenpeace activists boarded a New Zealand government-owned research ship in Wellington after it returned from a deep-sea mineral survey in the Pacific. Five activists were later removed from the Tangaroa by police, and charges are being considered, a police spokesperson told 1News. One activist was dressed as US President Donald Trump and flew an American flag from the ship. Another held a banner that said, “Don’t Mine the Moana”. Greenpeace said the protest was aimed at New Zealand’s involvement in deep-sea mining work linked to the United States. The Tangaroa is operated by Earth Sciences New Zealand. It recently returned from the Clarion-Clipperton Zone in the international waters of the Pacific, where it surveyed deep-sea minerals. The work was carried out for UK Seabed Resources Ltd (UKSR), a wholly owned subsidiary of US company Glomar Minerals Inc. Glomar has said it wants to start commercial mining of the seafloor as early as 2027. Greenpeace said samples of mineral nodules collected during the Tangaroa’s survey would help efforts to build critical mineral supplies for the United States. Greenpeace Aotearoa campaigner Juressa Lee said the group was concerned that a government-owned New Zealand ship had been used for the work. Lee said deep-sea mining could cause irreversible damage to the ocean. She called on New Zealand not to take part in efforts to start commercial mining. The protest comes as the United States takes steps to speed up deep-sea mineral exploration and commercial recovery. In April 2025, Trump signed an executive order aimed at speeding up deep-sea mining in US and international waters. Earlier this year, the US government launched Project Vault. The initiative is aimed at securing a global supply of minerals and building a reserve for military and industrial use. Greenpeace said the US administration was preparing to issue commercial permits for seabed minerals. The group said this w