Update: Greenpeace Romania announced on August 18 that it had canceled the Arctic Sunrise’s visit to Constanța Port and all related public events. The organization said a series of administrative obstacles, legal uncertainties and last-minute refusals culminated in access to the allocated berth being withdrawn only 24 hours before the ship’s scheduled arrival.

“Our team worked tirelessly until the last moment to make these community events possible. However, we encountered a complete lack of institutional openness and support for activities that directly serve the public interest,” said Greenpeace Romania executive director Elena Ionescu.

The planned program included free guided tours, debates on threats to the Black Sea, educational film screenings, and discussions on the transition to decentralized, clean and secure energy. Greenpeace said hundreds of citizens, children, volunteers, and journalists had registered to visit the ship and meet its crew.

Initial story: Greenpeace's iconic vessel Arctic Sunrise will return to Romania next month, when it will spend five days in the Port of Constanța hosting public events and supporting scientific research in the Black Sea. The visit comes as the environmental organization seeks to draw attention to growing pressures on the region's marine ecosystems and energy infrastructure.

The ship will be moored in Constanța between August 18 and 22, marking its second visit to Romania after a 2013 campaign promoting sustainable fishing. During the visit, the vessel will host guided tours, public debates, and meetings involving citizens, journalists, civil society representatives, public officials, and Greenpeace supporters.

According to Greenpeace Romania, the visit will focus on the growing environmental pressures facing the Black Sea, including the impact of Russia's war against Ukraine and offshore gas projects, as well as potential solutions related to renewable energy and biodiversity protection.

“Arctic Sunrise returns to the Black Sea at a time when the future of the region is being tested more than ever. While the war on our border and the global energy crisis are changing the way we view security and resilience, the Black Sea continues to face growing pressures – from fossil fuel extraction to the degradation of marine ecosystems. We need a healthy Black Sea with protected ecosystems, as well as an energy system based on decentralized renewable sources that do not create new vulnerabilities," said Vlad Cătună, campaigns director at Greenpeace Romania.

The program will include the launch of a report examining the vulnerability of centralized fossil fuel infrastructure to military attacks, the signing of the international Gas Free Cities declaration by Romanian local authorities, and screenings of the 2026 documentary Gaslit, featuring actress and activist Jane Fonda. Further details can be found here.

Alongside the public events, Greenpeace Romania said it has started legal procedures with Romania's Maritime Hydrographic Directorate to obtain permits for marine scientific research in the Black Sea. The proposed project, titled Passive acoustic and visual monitoring of cetaceans in the Black Sea, aims to collect data on the presence, distribution, and acoustic activity of dolphin populations in the western Black Sea, with a particular focus on Romania's territorial waters.

Built in Norway in 1975 and later modernized for environmental missions, the 49.6-meter Arctic Sunrise has become one of Greenpeace's best-known ships through scientific expeditions and environmental campaigns. It gained worldwide attention during the 2013 Arctic 30 incident, when 28 crew members and two journalists were detained in Russia following a protest against Arctic oil drilling. 

More recently, the vessel participated in the 2026 Deep Arctic Expedition, during which Greenpeace teams and European scientists descended to depths of 3,000 meters to document previously unexplored ecosystems.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Greenpeace Romania)