Vega (ship, 1948)
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The Vega is a seaworthy, ketch-rigged sailing yacht . It was built in New Zealand in 1948 and worked for the environmental protection organization Greenpeace between 1972 and 1995 .
In 1972 David McTaggart tried to penetrate the restricted area of the French nuclear weapons test area around the Mururoa Atoll with the Vega . The yacht was rammed by a French warship and four activists were arrested.
In 1995 the yacht was confiscated by the French Navy during renewed protests against French nuclear tests in the South Pacific and returned in 1996.