Sea Shepherd Escorts Whaling Fleet Out of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary

The Sea Shepherd ships Steve Irwin and the Bob Barker have successfully escorted the Japanese whaling fleet out of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.

After repeated orders from Sea Shepherd to desist their illegal activities and remove themselves from the Southern Ocean Whaling fleet, the Nisshin Maru, Yushin Maru, Yushin Maru #2 and Shonan Maru #2 have crossed north of sixty degrees and continue to head North by Northwest.

“We did not actually expect them to follow our orders to quit the Whale Sanctuary but they have indeed exited and are now running outside the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.” Said Captain Paul Watson. “They have not killed a single whale since February 5th.  We intend to turn four whaling free days into weeks.”

At 0500 Hours on February 7th the Nisshin Maru was intercepted by the Steve Irwin at 64 Degrees 2 Minutes South and 80 Degrees 11 Minutes East. The whaling fleet then ran Northeast for 95 miles on a course of 060 Degrees and then changed course at 1600 Hours on February 7th to 260 Degrees began to run Northwest for 260 miles. The whaling fleet left the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary at 1830 Hours (Sydney Time) at 60 Degrees South and 77 Degrees East.     (February 9th, 2010)

The Sea Shepherd ships Steve Irwin and Bob Barker continue to chase the Japanese whaling fleet.

“We intend to keep on their tail and to prevent any whaling operations for as long as our fuel reserves last and that should be for another few weeks at least,” Said Bob Barker captain Chuck Swift.

The Sea Shepherd ships are with the entire whaling fleet except the Yushin Maru #3. That ship has not been seen since the collision with the Bob Barker on February 6th.

Steve Irwin Joins Pursuit of Nisshin Maru

Position:  63 Degrees 43 Minutes South   81 Degrees 26 Minutes East

The Sea Shepherd ship Steve Irwin joined the Sea Shepherd ship Bob Barker this morning at 0700 Hours (Sydney time). Both Sea Shepherd ships are now on the tail of the Japanese factory ship Nisshin Maru.

The Japanese fleet was running fast to the Northeast not knowing that the Steve Irwin was on a course of Southwest coming directly for them. With the fleet doing 15 knots, and the Steve Irwin doing 15 knots, the Steve Irwin and the whaling fleet closed the gap at 30 knots cutting the rendezvous time in half.

The Steve Irwin sat motionless by an iceberg for two hours at a distance of thirty miles to allow the Nisshin Maru to continue towards it. At a distance of only three miles, the Steve Irwin got underway and intercepted the Nisshin Maru.

As the Steve Irwin passed by the Nisshin Maru, the factory ship turned on their water cannons and were surprised when the Steve Irwin responded with a more powerful water cannon that had a couple of the whalers diving for the bridge doors as the frigid water struck their bridge wing deck.

The Steve Irwin is presently tailing the Nisshin Maru a few cable lengths and slightly to the port side of the factory ship. Across from the Steve Irwin, the Bob Barker is tailing the Nisshin Maru slightly to the starboard side.

Following in the wake of the Nisshin Maru are the Japanese vessels Shonan Maru 2, Yushin Maru 1 and Yushin Maru 2. There is no sign of the Yushin Maru 3.

Six ships, two from Sea Shepherd and four vessels from the Japanese fleet, are heading at full speed northeastwardly.

"Not a single whale has died since the Bob Barker intercepted the fleet at 0100 Hours on February 6th. It is now the third day that the whaling fleet has been unable to kill a whale. We intend to turn these three whaling free days into three whaling free weeks," said Captain Paul Watson. "I am confident that once again we will severely cut their kill quotas and we will once again negate their profits."

The Steve Irwin and the Bob Barker have enough fuel to pursue the whaling fleet for another month.

"It does not matter where they go, east or west along the Antarctic Coast," said Steve Irwin 1st Officer Locky MacLean. "We intend to stick to their rear like glue and we will not allow a single whale to be loaded onto the decks of that foul floating abattoir."

There are 41 crew (29 men and 12 women) on board the Steve Irwin from Australia, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, Estonia, France, Japan, Hungary, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, South Africa, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States (15 nationalities).

There are 30 (6 women and 24 men) crew on board the Bob Barker from Australia, New Zealand, United States, Sweden, United Kingdom, and South Africa (6 nationalities).

photos credit: Glenn Lockitch / Sea Shepherd

At 1209 PM Fremantle, Australia time, the Yushin Maru 3 intentionally rammed the Sea Shepherd ship Bob Barker, penetrating it's hull and endangering the lives of it¹s crew. The collision occurred at 65 degrees 21 South, 67 degrees 58 East, about 180 miles off Cape Darnley in the Australian Antarctic Territory.

The Bob Barker had been actively blocking the slipway of the Nisshin Maru, the Japanese whaling fleet’s factory ship when the collision occurred. Four harpoon ships, the Yushin Maru 1, 2, and 3 and Shonan Maru 2, were circling and making near passes to the stern and bow of the Sea Shepherd vessel. The Bob Barker did not move from its position. At which point, the Yushin Maru 3 intentionally rammed the Bob Barker, creating a 3-foot long 4-inch deep gash in the mid starboard side of the Sea Shepherd vessel above the waterline.

No crew was injured during the collision. The Bob Barker continues to block the slipway of the Nisshin Maru, preventing the transfer of slaughtered whales and effectively shutting down illegal whaling operations.

The incident demonstrates a continued escalation of violence by the illegal whalers in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.

Said Captain Paul Watson from the bridge of the Steve Irwin, currently en route to join the action, “Because the whalers got away basically scot-free with the outrageous sinking of the Ady Gil, they now apparently think they can do whatever they want and they appear to have no qualms about endangering Sea Shepherd crew. What we really need is for the governments of Australia and New Zealand to step up and start enforcing maritime laws in these waters, or who know what the whalers will do next. Australian and New Zealand lives are at risk every day in these waters."

The crew of the Bob Barker noticed that the Yushin Maru 3 stopped moving in the water shortly after the impact, and appeared to be falling behind as the Bob Barker maintained its position on the stern of the Nisshin Maru. It’s possible the Yushin Maru 3 damaged itself in the collision.

The Japanese whalers are far more aggressive this year than in past campaigns.

Bob Barker Damage from the Collision

photos: (top) Glenn Lockitch, (bottom) Lincoln Shaw

The Sea Shepherd ship Bob Barker has shut down illegal whaling operations in Antarctica. The ship with its volunteer crew has caught up with the Nisshin Maru factory ship and is actively blocking its slipway.  The Nisshin Maru will be unable to process whales as a result of Sea Shepherd’s efforts.

The Bob Barker intends to stay in this position off the stern of the Nisshin Maru until the whalers return home or until they run out of fuel. Sea Shepherd’s other ship, the Steve Irwin, is racing to the area to join the action.

Four other whaling vessels are in the area surrounding the Nisshin Maru and Bob Barker. They include: the Yushin Maru 1, 2, and 3 as well as the notorious Shonan Maru 2, which one month ago today sank the Sea Shepherd Ady Gil in an act of blatant aggression.

Says Captain Chuck Swift, “As we sit in the shadow of this cetacean death machine, I’m proud to captain this ship and fine crew on such a noble mission. We will end these illegal operations once and for all, thanks to support from our staff and supporters the world over.”

photos: Glenn Lockitch

Dr. Sidney Holt is one of the most influential marine biologists of the 20th Century.  Born in England in 1926 and educated at the University of Reading, England. He is today a resident of Umbria, Italy.

Sidney was the co-author with R. J. H. Beverton of a book "On the Dynamics of exploited Fish Populations" first published in 1957 and which has since gone to three more editions, and has been described by his peers as “the most widely cited fisheries book ever published. . . a great work (that) created a solid foundation for one of the two major global visions of the science of fisheries². This book was the genesis of the modern age-structured approach to the optimal management of fishery resources. Beverton and Holt will continue to be a source of inspiration and insight for many years to come."

Sidney was years employed for twenty-five years in United Nations organizations, having been appointed at various times Director of the Fisheries Resources and Operations Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO, in Rome), Secretary of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) and Director of UNESCO's Marine Sciences Division in Paris.

He has held professorial chairs at the Universities of California Santa Cruz, of Rhode Island and of Malta, and a Senior Overseas Fellowship at St John's College, Cambridge. In Malta he served as UN Advisor on Mediterranean Marine Affairs and was one of the founders and the first Director of the International Ocean Institute (IOI) there.

Since his retirement from the United Nations in 1979 Dr. Holt has devoted his energies mainly to the conservation and protection of the Great Whales, serving on the International Whaling Commission's (IWC) Committee of Three scientists 1960-1985, on the delegation of the Republic of Seychelles to the IWC 1979-1987, as adviser to the Government of France 1992-4 and to the Delegations of Italy and Chile to the IWC, and also as Science Adviser to the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) since 1980.

He has participated in various capacities for more than thirty years in the Scientific Committee of the IWC, as well as in the Commission itself, from 1959 to 2002. He was honoured with the Gold Medal of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the Royal Netherlands Golden Ark, the Global 500 Award of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and The Blue Planet Award of IFAW, all for contributions to the protection of marine mammals, to animal welfare and to fisheries science.

Why I support SSCS on the whaling issue

By Dr. Sidney Holt

Although I have long had, and continue to have, informal and sometime formal advisory relations with several NGOs that consistently and persistently oppose commercial whaling, I am looking to SSCS for two special reasons:

1. SSCS is not afraid to speak out against cruelty to, and mistreatment of, sentient non-human beings, and
2. SSCS more than any others is clear about the fact that commercial whaling, especially that by Japan in the guise of scientific research, is driven solely by business/financial considerations and is best opposed through disrupting those imperatives, both on the supply and the demand sides.

I am also impressed by the clarity and unambiguity with which Paul Watson expresses his views and defines the SSCS strategy. And I applaud the dedication and bravery of those who crew the SSCS ships. Lastly, I tend always to support those who try to persuade or even force Governments and other "Authorities" to honour the commitments they have made by being party to international agreements, rather than merely by paying lip service to them.

On February 6, 2010 at approximately 0430 hours (Melbourne time), the Sea Shepherd ship Bob Barker reengaged the illegal Japanese whaling fleet at 67 degrees 10 minutes South and 67 Degrees 07 Minutes East. Sea Shepherd’s other vessel, the Steve Irwin, is en route to join the action.

The Bob Barker is currently on the tail of the Nisshin Maru and two harpoon ships, where it will attempt to block the slipway of the factory ship until the Steve Irwin arrives.

Stay tuned for campaign updates!

photo credit: Glenn Lockitch/Sea Shepherd

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In a new report released today, the Federal Opposition in Australia is preparing new legislation calling for a ban on Japanese whalers from using Australian planes and airports for the purposes of spying on Sea Shepherd.

Apparently, word has gotten out that the Japanese whalers are chartering aircraft in Australia to track the Sea Shepherd ships. Despite this, the illegal whalers are still able to utilize Australian resources for whaling activities in an effort to sabotage anti-whaling activists.

Although Japanese whaling ships themselves are banned from entering Australian waters, this has not stopped Japan from continuing to defy Australian authority in the Southern Ocean as well as on land.

Opposition environment spokesman Greg Hunt said, “Planes are taking off from Australian airports to support Japanese whaling, to capture information, to spy on protestors. It’s time to end the practice of spy flights in support of Japanese whaling in Australian waters.”

Hunt continued to challenge Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to live up to his pre-election promise to end illegal whaling.

Greens Senator Rachel Siewert also supported the new legislation, commenting, “The Australian government says it is trying to stop whaling, but one of the activities they can do to help stop whaling is to ensure that no Australia resources are used to aid whaling.”

The Sea Shepherd ships Bob Barker and Steve Irwin are currently pursuing the whale poachers in the Southern Ocean.

Said Captain Paul Watson, “For the Japanese whalers we intend to make this a never-ending trip to the dentist. We don’t intend to see whales die without opposition and without massive economic costs to their killers. And we are costing them dearly. Thank you Australia for your ongoing support.”

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The Sea Shepherd flagship Steve Irwin arrived back in Fremantle on Thursday, January 28th, to make emergency helicopter repairs, refuel, re-provision, and drop off rescued crew from the Sea Shepherd ship Ady Gil, which sank after being deliberately rammed and cut in two by the Japanese vessel Shonan Maru No. 2.

The Steve Irwin made its stop very brief in order to return to the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary as quickly as possible. Within 48 hours, the Steve Irwin had returned in pursuit of the Japanese whaling fleet along the coast of Antarctica.

The Sea Shepherd ship Bob Barker continues to pursue the Japanese whaling fleet in the Antarctic. With two Sea Shepherd ships, the whaling fleet can be kept on the run by one vessel while the other resupplies.

Captain Pete Bethune of the Ady Gil is returning on the campaign as an officer onboard the Steve Irwin. Four of the six Ady Gil crew disembarked from the Steve Irwin in Fremantle during its brief lay over.

“There is nothing that is easy about this campaign this year,” said Captain Paul Watson. “The supply lines are long, the hunting area is vast, hostile, and remote, and this year the Japanese are more violently aggressive than any year before. Despite these obstacles, I am confident that we will once again be able to diminish kill quotas and that we will be able to save the lives of hundreds of whales.”

Special thanks to the onshore Sea Shepherd volunteers who helped ensure the vessels swift turn around, including: Jeff Hansen, Heather Cue, Gavin Gillett, Liza Dicks, and Michael Hawkins.

Additional special thanks to Fremantle MLA Adele Carles and Helena Everkrans-Smith for helping to facilitate lodging for the returning Ady Gil crew after their high seas ordeal.

Photo Credit: Barbara Viega / Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society will not be getting much rest after the Japanese whaling season ends following Operation Waltzing Matilda.

Both Sea Shepherd ships, the Steve Irwin and the Bob Barker, will head for the Mediterranean from the Southern Ocean. The objective will be to intercept and oppose the illegal operations of Bluefin tuna poachers.

“We need to bring to the attention of the international public that one of the most unique fish species in the world, the Bluefin tuna, is on the brink of extinction due to the illegal fisheries driven by Japan’s insatiable demand for this expensive fish,” says Sea Shepherd Founder and President Captain Paul Watson.

Two weeks ago a single Bluefin tuna sold to Japan for £111,000.

With this high a price on its head, the days of this species surviving are numbered. As the fish becomes more rare, the prices paid for it will become higher. This is the economics and politics of extinction.

The Mediterranean tuna industry, which is supported by tens of millions of Euros in subsidies, has driven the Bluefin to the brink of extinction. Populations are within three years of total collapse.

Yet corruption, and the rising market value of the Bluefin is preventing any real conservation efforts.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meets in March to debate banning trade in the Bluefin. Yet in the lead up to the meeting, the European Union has taken the Bluefin off the agenda so as not to offend the fishermen of France, Malta, Italy, and Greece.

President Nicolas Sarkozy has tried to ban Bluefin tuna fishing but has had his arm twisted by his own fishermen. He is now trying to ban the export of Bluefin to Japan, and this will help greatly, but French fishermen have threatened to blockade ports if they don’t get what they want.

This is a crucial year in the battle to save the Bluefin tuna.

Sea Shepherd intends to confront the poachers and will not back down to threats and violence from the fishermen. Our campaigns in the Southern Ocean against Japanese whalers for the last six years has given us the experience and the resolve to tackle the violence of poachers anywhere in the world.

“We may lose a ship, but the loss of a ship is preferable to the loss of the Bluefin as a species,” said Captain Paul Watson. “Ships are expendable, species are not.”

Photo Credit : Gary Stokes / OceanicLove.com

Photo Credit : Kim McCoy / Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

The Cove directed by Louie Psihoyos has won the Best Documentary Feature Award at the Critics Choice Awards in Los Angeles.

The film about the slaughter of dolphins in Taiji, Japan features interviews with Sea Shepherd President and Founder Captain Paul Watson as well as footage of Sea Shepherd crewmembers Allison Lance and Alex Cornelissen releasing dolphins from the nets at Taiji.

The Cove won out over four other nominees including Michael Jackson’s This Is It.

The Cove shows the efforts of a special team put together by Psihoyos to follow the work of dolphin defender Ric O’Barry to oppose the killing of dolphins by local fishermen in a hidden cove in the whaling town of Taiji, the main source of dolphins captured for entertainment use around the world.

The film has won international acclaim and has exposed the horrific brutality inflicted upon the dolphins in Japan and the repressive measures the Japanese have used to keep their dirty little secret from being exposed. They failed.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is proud of this film. The genesis of the project began in October 2003 when Sea Shepherd sent a crew to document the slaughter. That was the same year that Allison Lance and Alex Cornelissen were arrested for the “crime” of saving the lives of 15 dolphins by releasing them from the nets.

Although video and photos taken by Sea Shepherd were published worldwide, it took a few more years of activism by O’Barry,  Sea Shepherd, and Surfers for Cetaceans to build up the momentum of a campaign which the film The Cove has brought to international critical review.

Sea Shepherd applauds Louie Psihoyos and his team along with Ric O’Barry. This film now has real potential to win an Academy Award.

Watch the trailer for the film

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On Friday, January 15, 2010, the crew of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’s vessel Bob Barker surprised, chased, and engaged the Shonan Maru No. 2, a security ship from the illegal Japanese whaling fleet. The engagement took place between the hours of 8:30 pm and 12:30 am (AEST).

The Shonan Maru No. 2 recently achieved infamy when it violently attacked the Sea Shepherd vessel Ady Gil, threatening the lives of its crew and sinking the vessel due to sustained damage. Today though, the Shonan Maru No. 2 was on the run from the Bob Barker, the irony being that Sea Shepherd adheres to a strict policy of non-violence and has an unblemished 30+ year record of never causing or sustaining any serious injuries while at sea.

Under New Zealand law, a citizen is empowered to serve an arrest warrant on a suspect for a crime that carries a penalty in excess of eight years imprisonment. The charge of attempted murder qualifies and thus Captain Pete Bethune acted in accordance with New Zealand law in his attempt to serve the captain of the Shonan Maru No. 2 who deliberately sank his ship and almost killed his crew and himself.

After a surprise launch, one of Sea Shepherd’s small boats snuck up on the Shonan Maru No. 2 and over a period of more than four hours the Bob Barker slowly closed the gap and harassed the vessel, ordering it to stop and submit to arrest for the crime of attempted murder on the crew of the Ady Gil. Each evasive maneuver from the Shonan Maru No. 2 cost the whalers critical speed.

Said Captain Paul Watson, President and Founder of Sea Shepherd, "Captain Pete Bethune had little choice but to attempt to serve the arrest warrant himself. Down here at the edge of nowhere, without back up from his government, he found he was the only sheriff in town. A captain of a ship that has been sunk by another captain has the authority to bring his attacker to justice. Captain Bethune has been attempting to do just that."

Attempts by this illegal whaling vessel to discourage the small boats launched by the Bob Barker included the use of Long Range Acoustic Devices (LRADs), several very high-pressure water cannons, and evasive maneuvers.  Some of the crew aboard the Shonan Maru No. 2 were also wearing cylinders on their backs attached to (as yet unidentified) hand-held devices resembling weapons.

Once it became apparent that the Shonan Maru No. 2 would not submit to the arrest, the Bob Barker turned around to continue the hunt for the factory ship of the illegal Japanese fleet.  This will prove difficult with the Shonan Maru No. 2 continuing to follow and monitor the Bob Barker, but Sea Shepherd’s flag ship Steve Irwin is also on the prowl for the illegal whaling fleet, and hopes are high that the floating house of blood known as the Nisshin Maru will soon be located—and shut down.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society would not be able to interfere without the support of the concerned citizens of Australia.

We have called this year’s campaign Operation Waltzing Matilda to honor the passion that Australians have for the defense of the whales.

“The ports of Fremantle, Hobart, Melbourne, Geelong, Sydney, Newcastle and Brisbane have been extremely welcoming and I am proud to see that we have the support of the Australian public,” said Captain Paul Watson.

A recent UMR poll of Australians conducted between January 7th and January 11th revealed that 94% of Australians oppose Japanese whaling operations in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.

According to the poll, eight out of ten Australians do not believe the Australian government is doing enough to oppose Japanese whaling. Only 9% say the government is doing a good job.

Three quarters of Australian citizens polled said they would be prepared to boycott Japanese products to force an end to the slaughter of the whales.

In reference to the sinking of the Sea Shepherd ship Ady Gil, 56% held the opinion that the Japanese were responsible for deliberately sinking the vessel. Only 19% blamed Sea Shepherd for the collision and 25% were unsure or did not have an opinion.

“Despite the incredible public relations expenditures by the Japanese whaling industry, despite pushing ‘experts’ to write editorials and be talking heads pushing the agenda of the whalers, the polls indicate that Australians are adamant in opposing the continued illegal activities of the Japanese whalers,” said Sea Shepherd Australian Director Jeff Hansen.

“Australia is the most passionate whale-defending nation on Earth,” said Captain Watson. “This is an Australian campaign, the majority of the crew are Australian and the Port of Fremantle has been designated as the honorary home port for the Sea Shepherd ship Steve Irwin.  Australia has even become like my second home since 2005. Now if we can just convince the government to reflect some of this great Aussie passion for the whales, we may be able to bring an end to this despicable slaughter in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.”

From an article in The Age: http://www.theage.com.au/national/battle-for-whales-too-weak-poll-finds-20100115-mcku.html

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In an effort to get around the European ban on seal products, the sealing industry and the Canadian government have partnered with the devil to promote their obscene product using racism as a marketing tool and taking advantage of an anti-democratic platform to present their sales pitch to China.

Canadian Fisheries Minister Gail Shea took a delegation of sealing industry executives on a taxpayer paid junket to attend a fashion show in Beijing to introduce Canada’s answer to haute couture. “Let your people wear seal skins” is the message she is trying to sell.

Canada is hoping to peddle pelts, penises, and seal meat to the Chinese government.

Wayne MacKinnon, one of the sealing industry executives travelling with the Minister boasted, “The Chinese will eat anything.”

Captain Paul Watson, whose daughter is half Chinese, took a dim view of that statement. “My daughter is half Chinese and I know for a fact that members of her mother’s family would not eat ‘anything’ and they certainly would not eat seal meat. The Fisheries Minister should let Mr. MacKinnon know that sort of racist commentary from her beloved seal killers is not going to win her party the Chinese vote in the Lower mainland of Vancouver.”

Gail Shea the Minister was pleased as punch that there were no protesters outside.

In an amazing display of insensitivity to the democratic culture she is supposed to represent, the Minister heaped praise on a society that does not allow dissent.

“Had this been Europe there might have been cans of red paint hurled, incendiary banners held aloft, and outraged protest,” Shea said.

“It is of course appropriate,” said Captain Watson, “that China, where human beings are brutalized, and the people of Tibet tortured if they dissent, would be a nation that would open a market for a product reaped from the sea with clubs and bullets. What Canada refers to as free trade is actually ‘trade where lack of freedom will allow it.’”

“I find it humiliating,” Captain Watson added, “that as a Canadian, my government has sunk to peddling seal pelts, meat, and seal penises. We have a Governor General and a Prime Minister gnawing on raw seal hearts with blood on their lips like little lords and ladies of the flies, and now they are shaking the hands of tyranny to peddle their obscenities to a government that has zero respect for human rights and certainly no respect for the rights or welfare of animals.”

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society maintains that the populations of seals have been reduced to fewer than 10% of their original numbers and it is this diminishment of natural predator populations that is the second root cause for the collapse of the fisheries (the first being human greed and the mass exploitation of the fish by Canadian and European Fisheries over the last two generations).

Photos credit: Greg Hager / Sea Shepherd

Statement from Captain Paul Watson

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is not unreasonable, nor irresponsible as claimed by the Japanese government, the New Zealand Foreign Minister, and some Australian media mouthpieces. For the last five years, we have conducted high seas physical opposition to illegal Japanese whaling operations without injuring a single person, without being charged with any crimes, without being charged with any maritime violations.

We are down in these waters for two reasons. Japanese whalers are operating illegally by targeting endangered and protected whales in an established international whale sanctuary in violation of a global moratorium on commercial whaling, in violation of the Antarctic Treaty and in contempt of an Australian Federal Court order.

And the second reason we are down here is because Australia is not down here doing the job they promised they would do.

If the Australian government would like us to desist from our operations than the solution is simple - they should do what they said they would do before they were elected.

If Australia initiates an international legal challenge to Japanese whaling and successfully secures a preliminary injunction preventing the Japanese from killing any whales pending the outcome of the trial, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society would respect this initiative and would retire from the field in order to give the Australian government the opportunity to end this unlawful slaughter of whales in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary in the courts.

Sea Shepherd has saved the lives of whales and has cost the Japanese whaling industry a great deal of money. If the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society retires from the field, the whalers will achieve their quota objectives and they will once again profit from their illegal activities.

Sea Shepherd has secured real results without breaking the law and without injuring anyone.

The Japanese whalers on the other hand are in violation of numerous international conservation laws and have been exceptionally violent this season going so far as deliberately destroying the Sea Shepherd vessel Ady Gil.

We don’t like coming down here; we don’t enjoy sacrificing our Christmas holidays and being separated from our families. We are volunteers receiving no financial benefits in exchange for risking our lives, health, and freedoms.

But what choice have we? We cannot stand idly by and watch these whales being slaughtered with impunity by poachers as the governments of the world do nothing. We cannot retreat from this battle knowing that whales will die and laws will continue to be broken if we do, unless we are given hope that this situation will be properly addressed by a government willing to stand up to the bullying arrogance of Japan.

If Kevin Rudd and Peter Garrett really want us to withdraw from our opposition to illegal Japanese whaling, they should step in and take over and simply do what they promised to do before they were elected.

Sea Shepherd is down here because that promise was broken.

Kiwi Foreign Affairs Minister Should Apologize or Resign Demands Our Sea Shepherd Kiwi Crew

New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully has basically given the Japanese the green light to escalate their violence at sea against eleven New Zealand crewmembers onboard Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’s marine conservation ships Bob Barker and Steve Irwin.

A New Zealand vessel with four New Zealand crew and one New Zealand cameraman was deliberately rammed by a Japanese whaling vessel. The New Zealand vessel was destroyed and sunk and the New Zealand Foreign Minister blames the victims.

This kind of attitude will surely encourage the Japanese whalers to escalate their violence towards the Sea Shepherd crew.

Sea Shepherd is appalled, shocked, and offended by these grossly irresponsible statements from New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully.

In response to the deliberate ramming of a New Zealand registered vessel with a New Zealand skipper, three additional New Zealand crewmembers, and a New Zealand cameraman and the request for intervention to stop Japanese violence, Murry McCully made these statements:

"If people are determined to break the law and determined to kill other people on the high seas then it is not the responsibility of the New Zealand government or any other government to send armed vessels down there or something of that sort to stop them."

-           Murray McCully, New Zealand Foreign Minister

AND

"We've got New Zealand citizens that have clearly been behaving in a manner that has put life at risk," he said. "If they are going to go down there looking for trouble and determined to find it then there's nothing we can do to stop them, except urge them to improve their conduct."

-           Murray McCully, New Zealand Foreign Minister

Captain Paul Watson responds, “The Minister of Foreign Affairs has made ignorant and unsubstantiated accusations and he should apologize and if he refuses to apologize he should be asked to resign. How dare he take Japan’s side in this issue against his own citizens? Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has undertaken six campaigns to the Southern Ocean without causing a single injury, without being charged with a single crime, without being charged with a single maritime violation and without being sued by any government, corporation or individual. The Society demands to know on what grounds and upon what evidence this ridiculous accusation was made.”

“Perhaps Murray McCully should review the video evidence of the Shonan Maru No. 2 deliberately ramming a New Zealand registered vessel, the Ady Gil, before he fires off asinine statements half-cocked concerning issues he has not obviously been briefed on,” Captain Watson continues.

In the 30+ years since Sea Shepherd was founded in 1977, the organization has not caused or sustained a single serious injury or fatality to any person, has never been the subject of a legal suit, and has never had an officer or crewmember convicted of a felony crime. Its record of non-violent, although aggressive, intervention is unblemished.

Sea Shepherd is an anti-poaching marine wildlife conservation organization.

The Japanese whaling fleet is targeting endangered and protected whales (Minke, fins, and humpbacks) in an established international whale sanctuary in violation of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) global moratorium on commercial whaling, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), an Australian Federal Court Order of January 2008, the Antarctic Treaty—both for conducting prohibited commercial whaling activity in the treaty zone and for unlawful refueling below sixty degrees latitude, and more.

If a Sea Shepherd ship had rammed and sunk a Japanese ship, there would be no hesitation in sending a Navy ship to the Southern Ocean with a warrant of arrest. Yet we now have a New Zealand vessel sunk, New Zealand lives threatened, and one New Zealander with broken ribs, and New Zealand is doing nothing.,

Sea Shepherd’s current Antarctic Whale Defense Campaign: Operation Waltzing Matilda has 77 crewmembers from 16 different nations, including 22 Australians and 12 New Zealanders.

The 12 crew from New Zealand are:

Captain Peter Bethune 44 of Auckland
|Scott Behrnes 38 of Christchurch
James Burrowes 24 of Ashburton
John Graham 38 of Auckland
Brent King 34 (Maori) from Takapuna
Brad Latimer 25 of Dunedin
David Neale 36 of Lower Hut
Larry Routledge 41 of New Plymouth
Michael Smith 39 of Maungauvi
Jason Stewart 41 of Auckland
Bevin Washer 30 of New Plymouth

Including cameraman:
Simeon Houtman 27 of Papakura

After suffering the total loss of our ship the Ady Gil, Glen Inwood, the public relations mouthpiece for the Japanese whaling industry, issued a very bizarre media release.

Inwood accuses Sea Shepherd of lying about the Ady Gil sinking. He accuses Sea Shepherd of polluting the Antarctic marine environment with a fuel spill. And he accuses Sea Shepherd of having bows and arrows on board the Ady Gil insinuating the intent of the Ady Gil’s crew was to kill the whalers.

“This is one of the most absurd media releases I have seen this clown issue in years,” said Captain Paul Watson. “Inwood has pictures of a bow with arrows floating near the submerged hulk of the Ady Gil. I suppose the only reason for this is that guns don’t float and he needed a ‘smoking gun’ but had to settle for a ‘floating arrow’.”

The Sea Shepherd crew on the Bob Barker did not lie about the sinking of the Ady Gil. In fact they notified the Australian maritime authorities that the Ady Gil had to be abandoned because it was partially submerged, its engine room and all compartments flooded, and was slowly sinking. The Ady Gil is a total loss and has officially been declared sunk. The Australian maritime authorities issued a notice to mariners warning of a sinking hulk in the positions indicated.

The day before, the Australian maritime authorities had advised Sea Shepherd that the only obligation the crew had was to rescue all crew members and personal items from the damaged vessel. They advised against re-entering the vessel. Despite this the crew risked their lives to re-enter and to pump all oils and fuel from the Ady Gil in an effort to protect the marine environment from pollution in the likely event of a sinking. Every drop of fuel and oil was removed. When the Bob Barker left the Ady Gil there was not a drop of fuel escaping. Sea Shepherd suspects that the pictures of a spill taken by the Shonan Maru No. 2 while trailing the Bob Barker were set up.

“It only takes a bucket of diesel thrown over the side of the whaling ship to provide the ‘evidence’ the Japanese are providing, “ said Captain Watson.

It is also totally absurd that the Japanese, who deliberately rammed and destroyed the Ady Gil and refused to offer aid and in response to its distress signal, are now accusing Sea Shepherd of polluting the sea because they (the Japanese) cut the Ady Gil in half.

“In light of the damning documentary evidence of the Shonan Maru No. 2 ramming and destroying the Ady Gil, it is utterly ridiculous to now see the Japanese claiming that the Ady Gil has not really been sunk, that Sea Shepherd caused an oil spill and that weapons meant to kill whalers just happened to be floating around the submerged hulk of the Ady Gil,” said Captain Watson. “Does Glen Inwood really believe that the people of New Zealand and Australia are so stupid as to swallow this codswallop?”

What is really absurd about these ridiculous claims is that on January 5th, the Japanese tanker Hiyo Maru refueled the whaling mother ship Nisshin Maru south of sixty degrees latitude in violation of the Antarctic Treaty that prohibits refueling in the Antarctic Treaty Zone. The refueling took place off Cape Denison in Commonwealth Bay only 15 miles from a large Adelie penguin colony.

It is absurd that the Japanese, who put tens of thousands of penguins in danger and who deliberately rammed and split a conservation ship in half, are now making this ridiculous claim that Sea Shepherd’s actions are a threat to the environment.

Sea Shepherd Resumes Pursuit of Illegal Whalers

On January 8, 2010 at 17:20 (GMT) the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society vessel Bob Barker reported the last known position of another Sea Shepherd vessel, the Ady Gil, to the Australian Rescue Coordination Center (ARCC).  This report was made because the Ady Gil—which was originally going to be towed to a nearby base—is now sinking and could pose a navigation hazard for the next two to three hours.

Having barely survived a vicious attack by the illegal Japanese whaling vessel Shonan Maru No. 2 on January 6, 2010, the Ady Gil began taking on water.  Since that time, Bob Barker crew members have been working around the clock in an attempt to save the ship and remove possible environmental hazards in case the vessel had further complications while being towed.

During the final towing attempt, the ropes holding the Ady Gil in place behind the Bob Barker snapped—seemingly the result of water accumulating in the vessel. Upon examination, the Ady Gil was found to be approximately 30% submerged, including the engine room and main fuel tanks.  Fortunately, all fuel and lubricants had been removed from the Ady Gil hours earlier.

The Bob Barker’s call to the ARCC fulfilled Sea Shepherd’s legal reporting requirements for this incident, but not its obligation to protect whales from the illegal Japanese fleet that is killing whales illegally in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.

The Bob Barker will now rejoin the Steve Irwin in pursuit of the whaling fleet to continue defending the whales.

photo: Glenn Lockitch / Sea Shepherd

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Famed trimaran is sinking in the Southern Ocean

Six crewmembers Rescued by the Sea Shepherd Ship Bob Barker

In an unprovoked attack captured on film, the Japanese security ship Shonan Maru No. 2 deliberately rammed and caused catastrophic damage to the Sea Shepherd trimaran Ady Gil.

Six crew crewmembers, four from New Zealand, one from Australia, and one from the Netherlands were immediately rescued by the crew of the Sea Shepherd ship Bob Barker. None of the crew Ady Gil crew were injured.

The Ady Gil is believed to be sinking and chances of salvage are very grim.

According to eyewitness Captain Chuck Swift on the Bob Barker, the attack happened while the vessels were dead in the water. The Shonan Maru No. 2 suddenly started up and deliberately rammed the Ady Gil ripping eight feet of the bow of the vessel completely off. According to Captain Swift, the vessel does not look like it will be saved.

“The Japanese whalers have now escalated this conflict very violently,” said Captain Paul Watson. “If they think that our remaining two ships will retreat from the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary in the face of their extremism, they will be mistaken.  We now have a real whale war on our hands now and we have no intention of retreating.”

Captain Paul Watson onboard the Steve Irwin is racing towards the area at 16 knots but still remains some five hundred miles to the north. The Bob Barker has temporarily stopped the pursuit of the Nisshin Maru to rescue the crew of the Ady Gil. The Japanese ships initially refused to acknowledge the May Day distress of the Ady Gil, but ultimately did acknowledge the call.  Despite acknowledging the call, they did not offer to assist the Ady Gil or the Bob Barker in any way.

The incident took place at 64 Degrees and 03 Minutes South and 143 Degrees and 09 Minutes East

Until this morning the Japanese were completely unaware of the existence of the Bob Barker. This newest addition to the Sea Shepherd fleet left Mauritius off the coast of Africa on December 18th and was able to advance along the ice edge from the West as the Japanese were busy worrying about the advance of the Steve Irwin from the North.

“This is a substantial loss for our organization,” said Captain Watson. “The Ady Gil, the former Earthrace, represents a loss of almost two million dollars. However the loss of a single whale is of more importance to us and we will not lose the Ady Gil in vain. This blow simply strengthens our resolve, it does not weaken our spirit.”

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is requesting that the Australian government send a naval vessel to restore the peace in the waters of the Australian Antarctic Territory. We have 77 crew from 16 nations on three vessels, six of them were on the Ady Gil. Of these, 21 are Australian citizens: 16 Australians on the Steve Irwin and five on the Bob Barker. Sea Shepherd believes that the Australian government has a responsibility to protect the lives of Australian citizens working to defend whales from illegal Japanese whaling activities.

“Australia needs to send a naval vessel down here as soon as possible to protect both the whales and the Australian citizens working to defend these whales,” said Steve Irwin Chief Cook Laura Dakin of Canberra. “This is Australian Antarctic Territorial waters and I see the Japanese whalers doing whatever they want with impunity down here without a single Australian government vessel anywhere to be found. Peter Garrett, I have one question for you: Where the bloody hell are you?”

photos: JoAnne McArthur / Sea Shepherd

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has escalated the battle to save the whales in the Southern Ocean, has out maneuvered the Japanese security vessels, and is now in full pursuit of the Japanese whaling fleet.

Captain Paul Watson is feeling more like an Admiral this year. He is presently hundreds of miles from the frontline action that is taking place in Commonwealth Bay off the Adelie Coast as two of his three ships are in full pursuit of the Japanese whaling fleet.

The Steve Irwin is expected to join the battle within three days armed with a full load of fuel and fresh supplies.

As the Japanese security ships searched the seas to the north of the whaling fleet looking for the Steve Irwin, Sea Shepherd surprised the whalers with a ship they were completely unaware of  - the Bob Barker, a former Norwegian Antarctic whaling vessel now turned whale defender.

The Bob Barker under Captain Chuck Swift set out from Mauritius on December 18th on the long voyage across the bottom of the Indian Ocean. On the morning of January 6th at 0300 Hours they found the Nisshin Maru and her four harpoon vessels. The Japanese whalers were caught completely off guard unaware that Sea Shepherd has three ships in the campaign this year.

Joining the Bob Barker this morning was the fast patrol vessel Ady Gil out of New Zealand and skippered by Pete Bethune. The Bob Barker and the Ady Gil are chasing the Nisshin Maru away from the Whale Sanctuary and all whaling operations have been halted.

The Japanese strategy was to keep the Steve Irwin away from the fleet by dedicating a faster ship to tail the Sea Shepherd crew. Using aerial surveillance the Japanese located the Steve Irwin on December 9th at the 200-mile limit off the Australian coast. They relayed that information to the waiting Shonan Maru No. 2. Six hours later, the faster Japanese vessel intercepted the Steve Irwin making it impossible for the Sea Shepherd crew to locate the main body of the Japanese fleet. Attempts to lose the tail were unsuccessful, forcing Captain Watson to return to Tasmania where he refueled and then departed undercover of a storm on the evening of December 31st.

Despite the Japanese sending multiple surveillance planes up all day on January 1st, 2010, the Steve Irwin slipped past the Japanese security vessel Yushin Maru undetected. The Shonan Maru No. 2 had returned to the fleet to refuel and was replaced at the 200-mile limit by the Yushin Maru.

The objective of Sea Shepherd’s three-ship campaign is to bankrupt the illegal Japanese whaling fleet and to sink them economically.

“This year, I have three ships, four small boats, a jet ski, a helicopter, 77 crew, and a bagful of aggravation for the Japanese whale poachers,” said Captain Paul Watson. “We intend to make life miserable for the whale killers over the next month and a half.”

Included in the crew is the Animal Planet crew filming the third season of the hit television series “Whale Wars.”

The Sea Shepherd crew number 77 from 16 nationalities including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ecuador, Estonia, France, Germany, Ghana, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States.

Bob Barker:  Crew of 30, Captain Chuck Swift (USA)
Steve Irwin: Crew of 41, Captain Paul Watson (Canada)
Ady Gil: Crew of 6, Captain Peter Bethune (New Zealand)

The Sea Shepherd ship Steve Irwin left Hobart, Tasmania at 1800 Hours on December 31^st, 2009 to return to the search in the Southern Ocean for the illegal operations of the Japanese whaling fleet.

The Steve Irwin had lost the tail of the Shonan Maru No. 2 when the Sea Shepherd crew returned to Tasmania. The Japanese were anxious to put that tail back on the anti-whaling ship knowing that a continued tracking of the Steve Irwin would keep the conservationists away from the whaling fleet.

The Japanese were desperate to not lose track of the Steve Irwin, so desperate that they appear to have fraudulently poised as New Zealand government agents in their efforts to find the Steve Irwin at sea.

On January 1st, 2010 two men, Glen Inwood and Chris Johnston from Omeka Communications located in Wellington, New Zealand chartered a Chieftain aircraft out of Melbourne. They identified themselves as acting on behalf of the government of New Zealand to track down and locate a New Zealand catamaran and the Steve Irwin on the pretext that if they (the Sea Shepherd ships) were to get in trouble it would cost the New Zealand government a great deal of money to rescue. They wanted the ships located and an estimate given of their track and speed.

The Chieftain aircraft undertook two four-hour searches. The searches failed to find the Steve Irwin. The Ady Gil, the Sea Shepherd catamaran, was fourteen hundred miles south so finding it was out of the question. It was the Steve Irwin they were looking for.

The two searches failed to find the Steve Irwin so Inwood and Johnston chartered a second Chieftain for another four hour flight. It also failed to spot the Steve Irwin.

Sitting at the 200-mile limit, the Japanese harpoon vessel Yushin Maru waited for word from the spotter planes to resume the tail on the Steve Irwin. It had been spotted and identified by a boat out of Hobart with a six-person crew identifying themselves as the Taz Patrol.

Meanwhile, the Steve Irwin had latched onto a passing storm and rode the winds and heavy rains across the Economic Exclusion Zone into international waters undetected.

The 12 hours of flight with the Chieftains at $1,610 an hour cost Glen Inwood $18,320. He put it on his personal credit card.

Was Glen Inwood a representative of the New Zealand government as he said?

No, Mr. Inwood owns Omeka Communications, the New Zealand public relations firm that represents the Japanese whaling industry.

It will be interesting to see if the New Zealand government has a problem with a Japanese hired public relations firm representing themselves as New Zealand government agents.

The end result was that the search was unsuccessful, the Steve Irwin is running south without a Japanese tail, the Yushin Maru is not whaling, and the whaling industry is out another $18 thousand dollars.