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Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior

SOLVED1985Marsden Wharf, Port of Auckland, New Zealand3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026
Illustrative

On the night of 10 July 1985, two limpet mines detonated seven minutes apart against the hull of the Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior, berthed at Marsden Wharf in the Port of Auckland, New Zealand. The vessel was preparing to lead a flotilla protesting French nuclear testing at Moruroa Atoll. While the crew evacuated after the first blast, Portuguese-Dutch photographer Fernando Pereira returned below deck to retrieve camera equipment and drowned when the second explosion caused rapid flooding. The ship partially sank minutes later.

The operation, codenamed Opération Satanique, was carried out by operatives of the Directorate-General for External Security (DGSE), France's foreign intelligence agency. Preparatory work included DGSE agent Christine Cabon infiltrating the Greenpeace Auckland office under a false identity to gather intelligence. Two agents, Dominique Prieur and Alain Mafart, posed as a married couple to deliver mines brought into the country aboard the yacht Ouvéa; divers Jean Camas and Jean-Luc Kister carried out the bombing itself.

New Zealand Police launched one of the country's largest investigations, arresting Prieur and Mafart after a Neighbourhood Watch group helped identify them; their Swiss passports proved false, exposing French government involvement. Other agents involved in the operation, including the Ouvéa crew intercepted by Australian police on Norfolk Island, were released and evacuated by a French submarine before New Zealand could bring charges. France initially denied any involvement, but the denial collapsed after British and French press reporting implicated President François Mitterrand, prompting the resignation of Defence Minister Charles Hernu and the dismissal of DGSE head Admiral Pierre Lacoste. Prime Minister Laurent Fabius publicly acknowledged in September 1985 that French agents had sunk the ship on orders.

Prieur and Mafart pleaded guilty to manslaughter and were sentenced on 22 November 1985 to ten years' imprisonment in New Zealand. Under pressure from France, which threatened trade retaliation, a 1986 UN-mediated agreement saw the pair transferred to detention on the French Pacific atoll of Hao for three years, in exchange for a French apology and reparations to New Zealand. Both agents returned to France well before serving three years, a breach later ruled by arbitration to have violated the agreement, resulting in a further payment by France to New Zealand in 1990. France also paid reparations to Greenpeace and to Pereira's family.

Additional agents involved in the operation, including Louis-Pierre Dillais and Gérard Royal, were never extradited or prosecuted. In 2005, Admiral Lacoste confirmed Mitterrand had personally approved the operation. In 2015, bomber Jean-Luc Kister publicly acknowledged his role in an interview, expressing that the mission had been "a big, big failure." The wreck of Rainbow Warrior was scuttled at Matauri Bay in 1987 as a dive site, and Greenpeace commissioned successor vessels bearing the same name.

Key facts

Victims
Fernando Pereira
Date
1985
Location
Marsden Wharf, Port of Auckland, New Zealand
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 1966

    France begins nuclear weapons testing at Moruroa Atoll in French Polynesia.

  2. 1985-07

    Rainbow Warrior arrives in New Zealand to lead a flotilla protesting planned French nuclear tests at Moruroa.

  3. 1985-07-10

    Two limpet mines detonate against Rainbow Warrior at Marsden Wharf, Auckland; photographer Fernando Pereira drowns and the ship partially sinks.

  4. 1985-07-26

    New Zealand issues arrest warrants for the crew of the yacht Ouvéa on charges of arson and murder.

  5. 1985-09-22

    French Prime Minister Laurent Fabius publicly admits French agents sank the ship on orders.

  6. 1985-10-24

    France conducts its next nuclear test, Héro, at Moruroa.

  7. 1985-11-22

    Dominique Prieur and Alain Mafart plead guilty to manslaughter and are sentenced to ten years' imprisonment in New Zealand.

  8. 1986-06

    UN-mediated agreement reached: France to pay New Zealand NZ$13 million and apologise; Prieur and Mafart to be detained on Hao Atoll for three years.

  9. 1987

    France pays $8.16 million in damages to Greenpeace and compensation to the Pereira family.

  10. 1987-12-14

    Alain Mafart returns to Paris for medical treatment, less than two years into his Hao detention.

  11. 1987-12-12

    Rainbow Warrior is scuttled at Matauri Bay near the Cavalli Islands to serve as a dive wreck.

  12. 1988-05-06

    Dominique Prieur returns to France from Hao Atoll, citing pregnancy.

  13. 1990

    UN Secretary-General awards New Zealand a further NZ$3.5 million after France's breach of the Hao detention agreement.

  14. 1991-04

    French Prime Minister Michel Rocard delivers a personal apology to New Zealand.

  15. 2005

    Le Monde publishes a 1986 report; Admiral Pierre Lacoste confirms President Mitterrand personally approved the operation.

  16. 2006-08-07

    New Zealand Supreme Court dismisses appeal by former French agents; TVNZ broadcasts sealed footage of their guilty pleas.

  17. 2015-09

    TVNZ's Sunday programme broadcasts an interview in which bomber Jean-Luc Kister acknowledges his lead role in the attack.

Best coverage

No approved coverage links are attached yet.

People

  • Fernando Pereira

    VICTIM

    Portuguese-Dutch photographer who drowned aboard Rainbow Warrior after the second explosion

  • Alain Mafart

    CONVICTED

    DGSE agent; pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to ten years' imprisonment in New Zealand (1985)

  • Dominique Prieur

    CONVICTED

    DGSE agent; pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to ten years' imprisonment in New Zealand (1985)

Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.

Archival records

  • File:Schip Rainbow Warrior van Greenpeace in Scheveningen, Bestanddeelnr 930-2632.jpg

    unclassified

    File:Schip Rainbow Warrior van Greenpeace in Scheveningen, Bestanddeelnr 930-2632.jpg

    Credit: Koen Suyk / Anefo · CC0 · Source

Places

Marsden Wharf, Port of Auckland, New Zealand

-36.8422, 174.7717

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
On 10 July 1985, French intelligence agents bombed the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior at Auckland's Marsden Wharf, drowning photographer Fernando Pereira and triggering a major diplomatic scandal.
Where did the crime happen?
Marsden Wharf, Port of Auckland, New Zealand.
Who was convicted?
Alain Mafart (DGSE agent; pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to ten years' imprisonment in New Zealand (1985)) and Dominique Prieur (DGSE agent; pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to ten years' imprisonment in New Zealand (1985)).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved.
More cases in New Zealand

Sources

  1. ENCYCLOPEDICSinking of the Rainbow WarriorWikipedia · 2026-07-07
  2. PRESSContemporaneous coverage — The GuardianThe Guardian · 2026-07-07
  3. OFFICIAL / AGENCYContemporaneous coverage — nzhistory.govt.nznzhistory.govt.nz · 2026-07-07

Record history

First published
JUL 07, 2026