On Board the Actic Sunrise in Varna: Video

How can work for environmentally sustainable development and peace in the Black Sea continue when the war in Ukraine has turned the sea simultaneously into an ecosystem under pressure, an energy corridor and a zone of military risk? Pavel Antonov talks with Meglena Antonova, Director of Greenpeace Bulgaria, on board the Arctic Sunrise in the latest video from BlueLink’s Activizia channel.

In the summer of 2026, Greenpeace’s legendary ship Arctic Sunrise crossed the Black Sea carrying the message “A Living Black Sea Without Oil and Gas”. The mission combined environmental campaigning, scientific research and public actions against new extraction projects and dependence on fossil fuels.

Only weeks after the ship’s visit to Varna, Greenpeace activists warned of the risks surrounding the Neptun Deep gas project following drone incidents near the platform. On 3 September, Arctic Sunrise also took part in an action off the Bulgarian Black Sea coast against plans for new extraction in the Khan Tervel block, displaying the huge floating message “GAS IS A SCAM”.

On board Arctic Sunrise, Captain Pep Barbal Badia spoke to Activizia’s camera about the ship’s role in Greenpeace’s Black Sea mission, the challenges facing the crew in conditions of war and increased risks to navigation, and the ways in which an environmental mission can combine a civic message, international solidarity and concrete action to protect the sea. The conversation adds another dimension to the links between protecting the Black Sea, dependence on fossil fuels and the need for peace and security in the region.

The Black Sea between war, climate change and energy dependence

Russia’s war against Ukraine has fundamentally changed the environment in which environmental organisations work across the Black Sea region. Military risks now overlap with the climate crisis, pollution, intensive oil transport and plans for new oil and gas extraction.

The Arctic Sunrise mission in the Black Sea brought these interconnected issues to the centre of public attention. Greenpeace describes the Black Sea as a particularly vulnerable ecosystem, exposed simultaneously to industrial pressure, risks associated with the transport of petroleum products and accelerating warming.

Can environmental protection remain separate from questions of peace and security?

On board the ship in Varna, BlueLink Managing Editor Pavel Antonov spoke with Meglena Antonova, Director of Greenpeace Bulgaria, about the organisation’s work in this increasingly complex environment.

The conversation explores how protection of the marine environment, resistance to new dependence on fossil fuels and the pursuit of peace are becoming ever more closely intertwined. It also addresses the difficulties facing the environmental movement when ecological arguments must be defended amid war, geopolitical confrontation and mounting pressure to secure energy supplies at any cost.

Arctic Sunrise as a platform for civic action

Arctic Sunrise is more than a symbol of the international environmental movement. During its Black Sea mission, the ship became a platform for meetings with citizens, journalists, scientists and activists, as well as for direct action to protect the sea.

In August, the crew also took part in an action against the abandoned tanker Kairos, part of Russia’s shadow fleet, off Burgas. Activists painted the huge message “NO GAS + OIL” on its hull, linking dependence on oil and gas with war, corruption and risks to marine ecosystems and coastal communities.

Watch the full conversation in the Activizia video.

More on the Black Sea

See more BlueLink publications on the Black Sea.

More from Greenpeace

See Greenpeace’s profile on BlueLink and more materials about the organisation’s work.

More from the Bulgarian Climate Coalition

Visit the website of the Bulgarian Climate Coalition.

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BlueLink.net is a civic think-and-action network that supports the strategic use of digital communications by citizens and their organisations to protect the environment, strengthen democracy and uphold European values. BlueLink Foundation is a full member of the international Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and supports and coordinates the work of the Bulgarian Climate Coalition.

BlueLink publishes this material as part of the BeLIFE project, co-funded by the European Union’s LIFE Programme. The project enables people to use the law in support of the environment and climate by improving available resources on environmental democracy rights, building the capacity of environmental and climate defenders, and improving the quality of environmental rights complaints.

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