Volunteers in Germany rallied again in 1998, when the ruptured freighter Pallas caught fire, ran aground, and heavy oil flowed from the ship’s tanks into the North Sea. While the authorities debated and pondered, the Sea Shepherd volunteers in Germany immediately responded to the first news of the disaster. The efforts of hundreds of volunteers from both Sea Shepherd and the Föhr animal protection group resulted in great success: Thousands of birds were rescued and cleaned, transported in large cushioned boxes, tagged and set free, far from the oiled waters.