Please find out the registration number of the black and grey
inflatable zodiac (with aluminium panel hull which can be dismantled)
used by the
French DGSE to sink the Rainbow Warrior on July 10 1985. It was
apparently bought in London by French Petty Officer Gerald Adries, a
member of the Ouvea crew. We think we might now possess it, and want
to identify it for sure.  Each zodiac has a registration number. If it
turns out to be our's we might want to let the media know, as it would
be of intense public interest, with the America's cup soon starting in
NZ, and news that the French sindicate is being financed by a company
in nuclear power!

---

Request for Question Clarification by huntsman-ga on 17 Aug 2002 18:59 PDT

Pomps,

Regarding the Zodiac that you currently own:

1. What is its registration number? 
2. Are there any other identifiers or labels on it?
3. Do you know specifically which model it is?
4. If you don't know the model, what are the overall dimensions,
carrying capacity, etc.?
5. Have you seen any pictures on the Web that look similar to your
boat?

Regarding your mention of the Rainbow Warrior Zodiac being "bought in
London by French Petty Officer Gerald Adries, a member of the Ouvea
crew", where did you get this information?

Thanks for the additional help,
Huntsman

---

Clarification of Question by pomps-ga on 17 Aug 2002 21:11 PDT

Sorry but we would rather not provide our zodiac registration no.
However the boat is a regular 6 person craft, identical to the ones
our RNZ navy used to use.
It was made in France, and has a mahogany transom with alloy outside
of it, and mahongany front board. There are 4 alloy plates that fit
together to make the floor, held in place by two alloy runners along
the side.  There is an inflatable keel section and inflatable external
part right around the craft except for the centre back which has a
sort of inflatable fin on either side.

The model is XDO Mark 2GR Series 2424

I got the information about its purchase from the Rainbow Warrior
website where it answers the questions "what happened to the crew of
the Ouvea.

Thanks for your help

Pomps

---

Request for Question Clarification by huntsman-ga on 17 Aug 2002 23:24 PDT

Pomps,

Apparently these are the links you're referring to:

   GreenPeace
   French Nuclear Test
   Rainbow Warrior Pages
   http://archive.greenpeace.org/~comms/rw/rw.html

   GreenPeace Archives
   [Rainbow Warrior Archives]
   http://archive.greenpeace.org/~comms/rw/pkcant.html

   GreenPeace
   The French Secret Service Agents - Where Are They Now?
   [Crew of the Yacht Ouvea]
   http://archive.greenpeace.org/~comms/rw/pkspy.html

"Petty Officer Gerald Andries, aliases Eric Audrenc, Eric Andreine
Member of the Ouvea crew, Andries was a combat frogman. He bought the
inflatable and the outboard motor used in the bombing in London."

The following story at the Auckland City Police web site has a photo
of the abandoned Zodiac (presumably confiscated by them):

   Auckland City Police
   Rainbow Warrior Bombing - 1985
   http://www.aucklandcitypolice.govt.nz/History/warrior.htm
   http://www.aucklandcitypolice.govt.nz/History/images/rw2.jpg

Does your Zodiac look like this?

I'm high and dry on the other side of the planet. Since you apparently
live in New Zealand, have you already contacted the Auckland City
Police for any information about the boat?

Huntsman

---

Clarification of Question by pomps-ga on 18 Aug 2002 01:16 PDT

Greetings

Yes, the jpg of the zodiac looks identical,  but then I spose most
zodiacs of that era looked identical too.

However I will do as you suggest and contact Auckland city police
direct, and see if they will enlighten us.  I'll let you know if we
are successful.

Thanks anyway

pomps-ga

---

Request for Question Clarification by huntsman-ga on 18 Aug 2002 01:17 PDT

Pomps,

If the registration number on your Zodiac is in the same format and
location as a standard HIN (Hull Identification Number):

   Hull Identification Number 
   http://www.boat-ed.com/nh/handbook/hullid.htm

then you can decode it as explained here:

   Nautical Know How - Boat Hull ID Numbers
   http://www.boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/hin.htm

At least you can confirm that your boat was manufactured before the
sinking of the Rainbow Warrior.

Huntsman

---

Clarification of Question by pomps-ga on 20 Aug 2002 17:10 PDT

Hi Huntsman

Just to let you know that I finally thought of phoning the local
Zodiac agent who gave me the phone no of a colleague who handles
zodiacs in Auckland. I rang him and he said he was actually asked to
inspect the original zodiac used by the terrorists because they had
unscrewed the HIN no and he knew where there was another concealed no
on the hull.

he couldn't remember what the registration no was, but we presume ours
is not the same craft, since ours does have a HIN plate on the hull. 
So thankyou for your quick work on our behalf, even though in the end
we used another contact to find out the answer.  Disappointing our
boat is not the same one, but it was interesting anyway.

Pomps

---

Request for Question Clarification by huntsman-ga on 21 Aug 2002 10:28 PDT

Hmm.. I wondered if savvy bad guys like these would have removed the boat ID.

Just out of curiosity, what *is* the manufacturer's date on your HIN plate?

Huntsman

I had a look myself and came up with much the same as huntsman. It may
be worth contacting the Auckland police to see if the officer in
charge (Allan Galbraith, a Detective Superintendent at the time) is
still on the force.

Also, I believe court records are public record, and as the Zodiac in
question was processed as evidence, the details you are looking for
are likely recorded in those recrods.

It's certainly an interesting bit of kiwi history you may be holding
on to.