War erupts over Antarctic whaling

Thu Dec 17, 2009 8:17 pm » by **Savwafair2012**

Whale wars goes head to head with hardcore Japanese] whailers

Senseless ... a factory ship winches aboard a minke whale and her calf after being harpooned by Japanese whaling vessel Yushin Maru in Southern Ocean, evidently killed in the name of science. Source: The Daily Telegraph

THE first shots have been fired in this summer's Antarctic whale wars, with conservationists fearing Japan has taken its aggressive defence of the slaughter to new heights.

The Sea Shepherd group's ship The Steve Irwin and a Japanese harpoon vessel exchanged high-powered water cannon salvos 1200 nautical miles south of Western Australia on Monday.

Harpooning vessel the Shonan Maru #2 has tracked the Sea Shepherd since it left Perth on December 9 and alerted the main Japanese fleet to its location.

A Japanese spotter plane has also been keeping constant surveillance of the Sea Shepherd.

Sea Shepherd captain Paul Watson said yesterday he believed Japan had put military personnel on board the Shonan Maru #2 and possibly other ships.

"The Shonan Maru is bristling with defences and the crew are acting very military - the way they operate, the way they move about the ship is very different to past years," he said.

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"It has four sonic cannons this year; last year they had one. And there are spikes all along its side and netting to stop boarding." Mr Watson said the clash happened about 2pm on Monday when he looped the Steve Irwin around an iceberg, did a figure eight out of view of the Shonan Maru #2 and re-emerged within a few hundred metres of the whaler.

The water cannon battle then erupted during the Sea Shepherd's two-hour pursuit of the Shonan Maru #2.

Mr Watson said Japan's whaling fleet has been expanded this year to four harpooning vessels, a factory ship, a supply ship, a spotting vessel and two "security vessels".

Despite assurances by the new centre-left Japanese Government that it would not kill humpbacks, Mr Watson said the species was listed on the whalers' permit.

"I've seen the permit and it lists 935 minke whales, 20 fin whales and 50 humpbacks."

Mr Watson also launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Environment Minister Peter Garrett.

"They just lied to get elected. Japan just laughs at Australia. It's all talk and no action."

The Opposition yesterday demanded that Mr Rudd fix a deadline for Japan to end its hunt.

But, despite his being in Tokyo yesterday, whaling was not on the table during Mr Rudd's meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.

Opposition environment spokesman Greg Hunt said Mr Rudd was "jetting out for sushi and sake but real action against whaling is not on the menu".

Thu Dec 17, 2009 8:29 pm » by **Rizze**

Harpoon those fuckers,hunt them down, "Ahab style".
And whilst we are at it, put a ban on all fishing from trawlers for at least two years, that way the stock would replenish itself.
There is no need for the greedy fat controllers of this world.
harpoon the lot of them.

From hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee. Ye damned Japanese whalers.

Fri Dec 18, 2009 1:11 am » by **Aragajag**

Kevin Rudd or Krud for short was elected in 07 his catch phrase was Kevin 07
he is now called Kevin 747 he is never at home and over seas sucking peoples extremities. Another useless feeder.

Fri Dec 18, 2009 1:15 am » by **Savwafair2012**

What the hell you on about???????

Fri Dec 18, 2009 1:26 am » by **Clouseau**

These Japanese whalers have got the nerve to call themselves a reaserch organization.
http://www.icrwhale.org/

Check out thier website... they claim they was attacked by the Dutch Vessel
Heres the pictures.
http://www.icrwhale.org/gpandsea-img.htm

Does this look like a reasearch vessell to you?
http://www.icrwhale.org/08/s/img/Nisshin-maru1.jpg

Fri Dec 18, 2009 2:28 am » by **Aragajag**

savwafair2012 wrote::shock: What the hell you on about???????

Do you read and understand your own posts? I put abit in there about a man that is the Aussie Prime minster that you had mentioned in your post. So to quote, What the hell you on about???????

Fri Dec 18, 2009 3:52 am » by **dlslith**

These Japanese hunters should be taken out! somehow! Whales, sharks etc. They are a disgrace to humanity. They are killing the seas!

Wed Dec 30, 2009 1:41 am » by **Marduk2012**

savwafair2012 wrote:The Sea Shepherd group's ship The Steve Irwin

Wed Dec 30, 2009 1:59 am » by **Lowsix**

aragajag wrote:
savwafair2012 wrote::shock: What the hell you on about???????

Do you read and understand your own posts? I put abit in there about a man that is the Aussie Prime minster that you had mentioned in your post. So to quote, What the hell you on about???????

lol

Wed Jan 06, 2010 8:09 pm » by **Savwafair2012**

UPDATE

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/w ... 977316.ece

Japanese whalers have sliced in half a high-tech anti-whaling boat in a dramatic escalation of the annual battle between the whaling fleet and environmental activists

The $1.5 million, 79 foot long 'stealth' boat Ady Gil sank after the attack in Southern Ocean but its six man cew was rescued uninjured, said Captain Paul Watson, founder of the radical environmental group Sea Shepherd.

Captain Watson said the Ady Gil, a light weight vessel that resembles Batman's spacecraft more than a conventional boat, was idling in waters near Commonwealth Bay in the Antarctic when it was suddenly rammed by the Japanese ship Shonan Maru, which was providing security to Japan's whaling fleet.

"This seriously escalates the whole situation," said Captain Watson. Speaking from on board the Steve Irwin mother-ship, which was 500 miles away from the collision, Captain Watson added: "According to the (Japanese) Institute of Cetacean Research, the Ady Gil's crew were launching projectiles at the Nisshin Maru and attempted to entangle its propellers with rope."

Australia director for Sea Shepherd Jeff Hansen said the Ady Gil was at a standstill when it was rammed..

"They (the crew) saw the Shonan Maru approaching and tried to back away but they couldn't get out of the way in time and were T-boned by the Shonan," said Mr Hansen.

"The Shonan put a hole in the Ady Gil and the nose has clean broken off," he said.

Mr Hansen said the Ady Gil issued a mayday call that was not answered by the Japanese whaling fleet. The crew were now on the fleet's third boat, the Bob Barker, he said, but wee unsure if the Ady Gil could be salvaged..

The Ady Gil, a biodiesel powered trimaran, arrived at the South Ocean stand-off between Japanese whalers and activists on Tuesday. It was reported earlier today to be 50 miles away from the whaling fleet.

The collision came as both sides employed new tactics to out-wit the other. Recently Captain Watson announced the existence of a secret third ship in the Sea Shepherd flotilla which he said would cause maximum disruption.

For their part, the Japanese increased their own security, adding two security ships to protect their fleet and launching spy flights from Australian airports to track the protest boats.

Captain Watson, a founder of Greenpeace who broke away to form his own more radical group is notorious for encouraging his crews to use increasingly confrontational tactics, many of which are opposed even by those who denounce Japan's whaling programme.

His boats regularly attempt to entangle the propellors of the whaling ships and frequently sail small open dinghies between whales and the harpoon boats in an attempt to foil the whalers.

The resulting confrontations pose a constant risk of injury. In 2007, the two sides had a collision and called a temporary truce in an effort to find two Sea Shepherd members who had drifted away in a small vessel in fog.

Australian Environment Minister Peter Garrett once more urged restraint on both sides. "The government is relieved to know there's been no injury according to the reports," saiad Mr Garrett.

"The point I would make is that the risk of accident is high and the capacity for rescue in these areas is low and it is absolutely critical that restraint be prudently exercised by all parties.

"In relation to this particular matter the government is very concerned at this collision and has said on number of occasions that we condemn any dangerous or violent activity in the Southern Ocean,'' he said.

He said the Australian Maritime Safety Authority had not been asked to respond to the collision and the government was not immediately considering sending a vessel to monitor the situation.