The Ady Gil was wrecked when it collided with the Japanese whaler Shonan Maru. Picture: AFP Source: AFP
IT was heralded by Sea Shepherd leader Paul Watson as the secret weapon in his war on Japanese whaling in the Antarctic.
But the futuristic trimaran Ady Gil, which sank after colliding with a Japanese whaler, is now at the centre of a court battle between its original owner and the controversial conservation group.
Pete Bethune, now an independent marine activist, claims Sea Shepherd deserted him after he'd served his purpose and owes him $500,000. He has taken his demands to a court in Maryland, in the US, claiming he sold the 24m wave-piercing trimaran to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society for $1.5 million in 2009.
He said $1 million was paid, with more than 20 emails confirming the remaining $500,000 would be paid in 2010. But on January 6, 2010, the Ady Gil - in its new black Sea Shepherd livery and skippered by Mr Bethune - collided with the Japanese whaling support vessel MV Shonan Maru, snapping off the Ady Gil's bow. It sank a day later.
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Sea Shepherd refused to comment while the case was in court but has previously said it owes no money to Mr Bethune because it paid his legal fees while he was in prison in Japan.
Mr Bethune said it was ironic that Sea Shepherd, known for its aggressive attacks on whaling and fishing ships, was arguing in court that he failed to adhere to maritime law "and in so doing allowed his vessel to be rammed, risking both the vessel and crew".
Mr Bethune claims Sea Shepherd ordered him and other crew "to deploy prop foulers, shine lasers in the eyes of Japanese crew, fire butyric acid at the whaling vessels - all breaches of maritime law".
"I sacrificed a year of my life to Paul and the SSCS, including five months in a maximum security prison in Japan resulting from actions I took under the captaincy of Paul," Mr Bethune said.
"He then expelled me from SSCS while I was in jail and their treatment of me publicly and privately since then has been a disgrace. The Japanese at least treated me with dignity and respect.
"I am extremely sad that I have been forced to bring this case to court against an organisation that I loved and a man that I had great respect for."
Mr Bethune said he understood Mr Watson could be a witness in the arbitration hearings to be heard over two days, despite Mr Watson skipping bail from Germany where he was being held following an extradition order issued by the Costa Rican authorities over a collision with a shark fishing vessel.