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For the past six years, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) under the leadership of Captain Paul Watson, has launched an annual campaign in the Southern Ocean to prevent the Japanese Whaling fleet from killing whales. Every year, the Japanese send a fleet of ships to the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary to kill and process for human consumption a large number of whales using a loophole in the International Whaling Treaty which allows for "scientific research."
This year the Japanese fleet has added security forces, ships and planes dedicated to tracking the Sea Shepherds location, and physical violence against SSCS. Just last month the Japanese whaling security ship the Shonan Maru No. 2 collided with the SSCS high-tech stealth vessel the Ady Gil, thereby cutting it in two and sinking it. The six crew members on board at the time of the incident survived.
In yet another violent action this past weekend the Japanese harpoon vessel the Yushin Maru No. 3 deliberately rammed the SSCS Bob Barker and caused a meter long breach in the hull, endangering the lives of the crew on board in the extreme cold of the Southern Ocean. The collision occurred at 65 degrees 21 South, 67 degrees 58 East, about 180 miles off Cape Darnley in the Australian Antarctic Territory. Fortunately there were no reported injuries from the incident.
Captain Paul Watson of the SSCS flagship the Steve Irwin which has now joined the Bob Barker in efforts to prevent the Japanese Whaling fleet from killing whales provided an update yesterday by satellite phone.
We are chasing the Japanese fleet right now, it's pretty rough seas so we are being knocked all over the place.
Are the Steve Irwin and the Bob Barker working together at this point?
Yes, both the Steve Irwin and the Bob Barker are behind the Nishan Maru (Japanese factory ship which processes whale meat for human consumption) and behind us are three harpoon boats that are chasing after us. They haven't killed any whales for four days, this is our fourth day of chasing them. If we keep them on the run for the next two to three weeks we are certainly going to impact their kill quota and their profits.
Did you repair the hull on the Bob Barker, is it seaworthy?
Yes we managed to get it welded shut which is good because the weather is really bad right now and it would take on water otherwise. Those repairs have been done and we had a water cannon fight between the Steve Irwin and the Nishan Maru and it turned out our water cannon has a longer range so we came out a little better on that today.
The Japanese fleet is obviously being very aggressive this year in trying to prevent you from disrupting their whaling, what is the overall demeanor there now?
They have Japanese security forces on their boats this year - they are far more disciplined and much more aggressive and I think they have clearly been frustrated. They have also been given a green light by New Zealand and Australia because they sank the Ady Gill in the Australian Antarctic Territory and they were not even reprimanded by the government. I can tell you if we had sunk a Japanese boat down here I would be under arrest right now. So there seems to be one law for them and one law for us.
Will you be pursuing any maritime actions against the Japanese? They have sunk one of your vessels and now have damaged a second.
Well they seem to be untouchable. Nobody wants to go after them; Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, nobody wants to say anything. Basically they can do whatever they want down here. They are targeting endangered whales in an international whale sanctuary in violation of a moratorium on whaling and nobody does anything about it so we are really at a disadvantage. They know their government will justify anything they do while we have to stay within the boundaries of the law and not hurt anybody.
Captain Paul Watson
Photo Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
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Thank you for an informative article - please ignore the paid moaners who regularly show up on other articles that highlight the whale poaching in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.
the last update on their website(Sea Shepherd) indicates the YM3 sustained heavier damage than the Bob Barker since it hasn't been seen for days after the ramming...
having two ships makes all the difference, they can block the dragging slip behind the factory ship preventing the harpoon vessels from getting the whales on board for processing.
get a battleship ship for next year Watson(forget speedboats).
GO SEA SHEPHERD!
They haven't seen the YM3 for days so that means it sustained more damage than the Bob Barker? That is an unsupported leap in logic.
Are any of the other Japanese vessels missing? No. Would the Japanese leave a damages ship on its own in the Antarctic? No.
So the logical conclusion is that it wasn't damaged beyond some paint scrapes and it is currently off doing something else with no interference from the SSCS. Maybe meeting up with the supply ship to pick up some surprises for the SSCS? Maybe working with another factory ship that rumor from some other eco-friendly sites have talked about?
The beauty of blogging is that on occasion we are not obligated to follow the standard American media ruse that there are two sides to every story and both are legitimate. The facts are that the Japanese whaling activities in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary are illegal. It is a whale sanctuary not a whale farm. IWC loopholes are not relevant to the whale sanctuary. The Japanese fleet has also broken with international maritime law on numerous occasions and show a ready willingness to endanger human life. SSCS is guilty of none of these illegal violations and in fact offered to assist in the rescue of a Japanese whaling crew member when he went overboard. After "colliding" with the Ady Gill last month and severely damaging the ship, the Japanese whaling fleet ignored an SOS, also in violation of long established international maritime law.
Last fact, their is no debate or question regarding the Japanese hunting whales for human consumption.
The beauty of blogging is you can lie because journalistic ethics don't apply.
The Japanese whaling is not illegal. The Japanese filed an objection to the IWC sanctuary, as allowed by the IWC charter, so the sanctuary doesn't apply to them. And even if it did the sanctuary only limits commercial whaling not research whaling. And if that still isn't enough, the IWC charter requires a specific scientific basis before establishing a sanctuary. This was never done for the Southern Ocean, so by the IWC regulations the sanctuary is a non-entity. And the so called Australian sanctuary is not recognized by the international community, except for Australia, France, Norway and New Zealand. So it also is a non-entity.
The SSCS is currently breaking maritime law by blocking the legal commerce of another vessel, and the regularly break other maritime laws. The Japanese didn't ignore any SOS, there is a SSCS picture of them standing by about 200 yards away ready to assist the Ady Gil if needed. And the SSCS only offered to assist the Japanese after a heated argument about whether they should use the search as an opportunity to attack the whalers.
As you say blogging is not constrained by neutrality but truth should still be a factor.
The Japanese have never denied that the whaling is illegal in Australian sanctuary waters. They are also no longer denying that it is commerncial.
And Japanese Greenpeace activists are currently in jail for intercepting illegal black market whale meat intended for commercial consumption FROM the Nishan Miru.
Mate, you need to get your facts straight.
And also about the mainstream media being "neutral", LMFAO. What planet do you come from?
Ok picture this.
A ship built to look like an orca.
Hardened nose perfect for ramming.
Ram the bastards.
Questions?
Picture this.
Ship defends itself against orca shaped ship illegally trying to ram them.
Blows orca shaped ship out of the water causing it to sink and killing all onboard.
International press reports "Pirate ship sunk, all onboard killed, oceans a little bit safer."
"oceans a little bit safer"
For the military industrial complex and those who seek power over life and ecological balance.
Clifford, what a jack ass. Are you unable to view the videos that have been recorded?
Just for fun, I went to a bunch of mariner forums and there is legitimate debate. So what do you know that they don't? I am not saying it wasn't intentional just that I find it irresponsible and unfortunate that Mr. Cope chose to present something as fact when it is disputed and the dispute is not just between the whalers and the SSCS. I get that both sides will blame the other. I know not to take them at face value. The Japanese claim their research as scientific when it most likely isn't but the SSCS also claim shootings and hostage situations to be real. Most news outlets are therefore a bit cautious now to take anyone's word as fact.
Calling someone a name does so much to help prove your point. I can see how much you care about about the whales.
It is the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW). The convention has a specific provision which allows the type of whaling the Japanese are doing.
The recent collision was caused by the SSCS violating the ColRegs, which give the vessel to starboard the right of way, requiring the vessel to port to yield. As can be seen the SSCS doesn’t yield as required but actually moves towards the Japanese who attempted to avoid the collision by turning to starboard.
The close trailing of the Nisshin Maru is illegally preventing a vessel engaged in fishing/commerce from continuing with its legal activities.
The Australia Antarctic Territory is land, not ocean. The Antarctic Treaty System prohibits the Australian from expanding their claim and only 4 countries recognize the claim. Many countries explicitly deny the claim.
Minke whales are not endangered. They aren't in a whale sanctuary. Australia tries to claim a sanctuary but they fail for the reason given. The International Whaling Commission tried to set up a sanctuary but the ICRW requires a scientific finding of need before establishing a sanctuary. The IWC never did this so legally their sanctuary is non existent, and the Japanese objected to the sanctuary, as allowed, meaning for the Japanese, even if it was legal, it doesn't exist.
The SSCS doesn't stay within the bounds of law. They throw glass bottles of acid at the Japanese, they attempt to wrap ropes around the Japanese propellers, they illegally board the Japanese vessels at sea.
You can't yield to a ship that rams you.
From the video evidence provided by the Sea Shepherds, the Bob Barker had at least a minute to do something to avoid the collision. Like stopping their engines. that would have done it, if they had the Yushim Maru would have been well ahead of them. Or they could have made a gentle turn to port and opened the distence between themselves and the Japanese.
Yeah if you wait until the second before the collision it is too late, but when you have plenty of warning and still don't yield it is your fault.
You would seem a good candidate to represent a third-world country on the IWC, for which Japan pays generously. The loophole provides for scientific research, and the Japanese are hunting whales for sale and human consumption. The Japanese fleet activities are not legal in the Southern Ocean, as numerous governments, notably Australia and New Zealand have repeatedly made clear. That the governments there have not taken any legal action, presumably to preserve trade relations with Japan, does not legalize activities. And please get your facts in order, the "acid" the SSCS crews lob at the decks of the Japanese fleet (they have never injured or struck a human) contain rancid butter which although awful to smell, poses no threat to human health or welfare.
Why don't you get your facts straight.
The acid the SSCS throw does not contain rancid butter. It is a commercially produced product from a chemical plant. Butyric acid is found in rancid butter but rancid butter is not what is being thrown. Cyanide is found in apple seeds but I have never heard anyone try and call cyanide "just apple seeds."
Have you ever looked at the chemical properties of butyric acid? The manufacturers so it can pose a threat to human health and welfare. But even if it doesn't, don't you think a glass bottle launched from a slingshot could pose a threat to human health and welfare. Or a chemical designed to make the deck slippery, sounds like that could be pretty threating to human health and welfare.
So while other respectable news outlets report this as a collision (without apportioning blame), you deem it proper to call it an intentional ramming on the part of the Japanese? I appreciate that this is a blog and one would be silly to take what you say at face value but you immediately lose credibility by posting stuff as fact that most people (including mariners) do not see as fact. It may very well have been intentional on the part of the Japanese but both parties have a history of intentional ramming including the SSCS who has a list of ships they have rammed in the past painted on their boat and I believe (though not sure) one of those includes the aforementioned Yushin Maru. It is a shame that certain so called activists aren't concerned with education and providing facts. And that some ship rammed another has nothing to with conservation or the cause you are promoting. I guess it is par for the course but unfortunate nevertheless.
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