Greenpeace activists said the Navy repeatedly rammed their ship and aimed fire hoses down ship smokestacks to stop its engines. They said divers punctured two Zodiac rafts and slashed gas lines.

The Navy says it used fire hoses to try to deter the Greenpeace ship. There was no attempt to damage it, said Capt. Paul Hanley, Atlantic Command spokesman. Navy ships were forced to ``shoulder'' the Greenpeace to keep it out of the 5,000-yard test zone when it ignored warnings, he said.