Mission ends for damaged anti-whaling ship

PHOTO

The Sea Shepherd ensign has been flying for eight years.

Last Updated: Fri, 6 Jan 2012 15:33:00 +1100

The Sea Shepherd vessel, Brigitte Bardot, will not return to its anti-whaling mission in the Southern Ocean after it was damaged by a 10-metre wave.

The 35-metre trimaran was towed into port in the west Australian city of Fremantle on Thursday by another Sea Shepherd vessel, the Steve Irwin.

It will take up to two months and cost about $US200,000 to repair the damaged boat.

The Steve Irwin's captain and society president, Paul Watson, denies the Brigitte Bardot was ill-equipped to cope with the rough seas.

"It's built for those conditions; it's a wave-piercing trimaran," he said.

In the future the vessel will be used in campaigns to protect sharks in the spring.

Meanwhile, the Steve Irwin's crew has defied an order by the Fremantle harbour master to remove its ensign which resembles a pirate flag.

Mr Watson says his crew could face penalties for not taking down the flag while docked in Fremantle.

"It just seems rather strange that he would make a request like that because we've had that flag flying for eight years," the Sea Shepherd spokesman said.