Posted on 01/07/2010 6:52:08 PM PST by myknowledge
The Sea Shepherd's anti-whaling speedboat Ady Gill has sunk after it was sliced in two by a Japanese whaling vessel during a clash in the Southern Ocean on Wednesday.
Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson told ABC News Breakfast the Ady Gill went down shortly before 3:30am AEDT while it was being towed to a French research base by the group's Bob Barker boat.
"I think they were towing for about six or seven hours," he said.
"Even the act of towing was taking more water on. The Japanese vessel had cut the vessel completely in half and made it unseaworthy."
Six Sea Shepherd crew members were almost thrown overboard and one crew member suffered broken ribs when the Japanese whaling security ship, the Shonan Maru 2, ploughed through the bow of the high-tech Ady Gill on Wednesday.
Both the Japanese whalers and the Sea Shepherd crew blame each other for the incident, which happened in Antarctic waters.
But Mr Watson has defended his crew and says the risk of dying on the high seas is worth it if it allows the group to save whales.
"My crew are well aware of the risks that we have to take to protect whales down here. I think those risks are worth taking," he said.
"I can tell you now that if the oceans die, civilisations collapse and we all die.
"People die everyday to protect oil wells and real estate and we call them heroes and pin medals on them. I think protecting the diversity of oceans... is a far more noble cause."
'Harassment and attack'
But Glenn Inwood from Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research says Mr Watson has a dangerous attitude.
"Paul Watson has said before that he's willing to give any Japanese vessel what he calls a steel enema by ramming his ship into the stern of any Japanese vessel," Mr Inwood said.
"He also proudly displays the number of vessels he's sunk on the side of the Steve Irwin.
"You can understand why the Japanese have put security vessels down there.
"To say Japan has broken maritime laws can't be justified in this instance when you're under constant harassment and constant attack from these ships."
Mr Inwood says Japan's whaling program is internationally recognised as legal.
"The International Whaling Commission (IWC) have sanctioned it. The New Zealand government recognises its legality, and many members of the IWC do as well," he said.
"Sea Shepherd is trying to prevent Japan from conducting what is a legal operation under the rules of the IWC."
Yesterday Acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard asked the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) to investigate the incident and said the findings would be made public.
She says the Government reserves the right to take international legal action if diplomacy with Japanese officials fails, and has warned that evidence has already been collected to launch such action.
New Zealand is also investigating the incident because the Ady Gil was registered there.
'An act of war'
Mr Watson says an insurance payout on the Ady Gill is unlikely because the incident was a deliberate act.
"It's a $1.5 million loss for our organisation," he said.
"I think the Japanese deliberately took that vessel out; they saw it as a threat and they were under orders to take it out.
"It would be an act of war so there wouldn't be any insurance on it."
Mr Watson says two Japanese harpoon ships were nearby but did not offer any help after the incident.
"They were responsible, they destroyed the vessel ... I think they should have offered some sort of assistance but they refused to acknowledge any distress signal," he said.
Mr Watson says they were able to remove all the fuel from the speedboat to prevent any pollution.
Mr Watson is urging the Federal Government to take a tougher action against Japanese whalers.
"In the six years that we've been doing this, we've never caused an injury to anyone, we've never broken a law... and now they have sunk one of our vessels," he said.
"[Federal Environment Minister] Peter Garrett has become the master of restraint. He made a campaign promise to end whaling; now let's see him [do something]."
Mr Watson says the Government should send a boat to Antarctic waters, where the Sea Shepherd's other boats - the Steve Irwin and Bob Barker - are continuing to pursue Japanese whalers.
Mr Watson says the boats are chasing the Japanese fleet and the whalers have not killed a whale in two days.
Diplomatic approach
Meanwhile, New Zealand officials have met with representatives from the Japanese embassy in Wellington to discuss the situation.
The ABC understands that at the Wellington meeting, Japan said it regarded the incident as "regrettable" but a "low-key event".
This morning a spokesman for the New Zealand Foreign Minister, Murray McCully, said contrary to media reports, Japan had not lodged a stern complaint with the New Zealand Government.
He said Japanese officials agreed with New Zealand that their citizens needed to have better regard for people on the high seas.
The spokesman said legal action over the collision had not been discussed, because it still had not been established who was at fault.
Maritime New Zealand has launched an investigation.
You misunderstand.
it’s not about the issue of whaling. (Which frankly I don’t get)
It’s about these ecoterrorists.
You are soooo lucky.
I would LOVE to go see the Humpbacks.
Did you see the story about the “Killer” whales attacking a Grey Whale and her baby.
She kept getting between them and her baby.
And as the attack went on, the people watching finally realized she was moving closer and closer to shore (where the K-Whales would not go)
they finally left and she and her baby continued their journey.
Amazing.
I watched the video several times and its clear that the Ady Gil’s captain was at fault.....there is no way to spin this any other way......
I can give a rat's ass about hunting deer, rabbit, phesant, ducks, geese, what have you. But when you hunt an endangered species you are a sick individual.
AND PLEASE SHOW ME PROOF THEY ARE NOT ENDANGERED!
Why is a whale different from any other food source?
Please provide a source for your 'endangered whales' being killed.
They aren’t on the brink of extinction.
In fact, they may be on the brink of overpopulation.
I advocate a similar rule on the streets and highways.
Call it the lug-nut-count right-of-way rule.
Whoever has the most lug nuts has the right-of-way.
Last I checked bass and walleyes are not in danger of being extinct.
AND PLEASE SHOW ME PROOF THEY ARE ENDANGERED!
Agreed 100%.
You are not alone.
And oh, they are violating international laws, surely that must be illegal somewhere. /s
Whaling is not chicken/pig farming.
Cows aren't endangered species because humans eat them.
If humans would eat more whales, there would be more whales.
You’re right!
Let’s eat Japanese instead.....
I think you are less of a whale lover but more of a Jap hater...
Hmmm...never had fried eagle. Might be pretty tasty.
D,
I have seen estimates of minke whale populations of +800,000 -
more than enough to safely reproduce long-term and allow
harvesting of reasonable numbers.
If people want to harvest and eat/use them completely, I’ve
got no problems with it, any more than reasonable harvest of
any other creature.
By any chance, are you going through menopause?
Unfortunately, any proof I have will be dismissed as "Well it's a left wing site". And if you want to say I'm a left winger please click my name. I've been on FR since 2001 and don't espouse ANY libera ideas. If this is a liberal idea then group me in with Michael Savage who supports the saving of gorillas and elephants in Africa from poachers. I am proud to stand with him and other conservatives who are against culling endangered species.
Not true. In 2007 Japan set out to hunt 50 humpbacks, again “for research purposes”.
The only reason why they didn’t that year was due to international pressure, not out of a sense of responsibility. Japan (and most other Asian countries for that matter) do not show any interest in “sustaining the species”.
Please show us proof that Antarctic Minke whales ARE endangered.
Every thing I’ve read about them puts them in the lower risk/ least concern category. There are hundreds of thousands of them swimming around. A few hundred won’t be missed.
I agree bro. To hell with the eco-scum and to hell with the whalers. I wish all parties involved were sunk to the bottom of the ocean.
I would put ONE 5”-38 across the bow,,,
The next one goes into the bridge!!!...
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