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Whale Wars: Boat Sliced in Two in Antarctic Clash
Fox News ^ | January 6, 2010 | AP

Posted on 01/06/2010 9:09:19 AM PST by jazusamo

A conservation group's boat had its bow sheared off and was in danger of sinking as it took on water Wednesday after it was struck by a Japanese whaling ship in the frigid waters of Antarctica, the group said.

The boat's six crew members were safely transferred to another of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's vessels, the newly commissioned Bob Barker. The boat is named for the American game show host who donated $5 million to buy it.

The clash was the most serious in the past several years, during which the Sea Shepherd has sent vessels into far-southern waters to try to harass the Japanese fleet into ceasing its annual whale hunt.

Clashes using hand-thrown stink bombs, ropes meant to tangle propellers and high-tech sound equipment have been common in recent years, and crashes between ships have sometimes occurred.

The society said its vessel Ady Gil — a high-tech speedboat that resembles a stealth bomber — was hit by the Japanese ship the Shonan Maru near Commonwealth Bay and had about 10 feet (three meters) of its bow knocked off.

Locky Maclean, the first mate of the society's lead ship, said one crewman from New Zealand appeared to have suffered two cracked ribs, but the others were uninjured. The crew members were safely transferred to the group's third vessel, though the Ady Gil's captain remained on board to see what could be salvaged, he said.

"The original prognostic was that it was sinking, but at this point it is flooded with water but it seems to still have a bit of buoyancy," Maclean told The Associated Press by satellite phone from the ship, the Steve Irwin.

The group accused the Japanese ship of deliberately ramming the Ady Gil.

(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News
KEYWORDS: adygil; antarctic; antarcticseashepard; japan; seashepard; whalingwars
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To: jazusamo

These mental defective “conservationists” are all terminally retarded. They put themselves in the path of danger, and they expect to be rescued and praised for their asinine imbecility. What thety deserve, is to have been Rachael Corried. They are all deserving future Darwin Award winners.

Maybe the next time these fools pull this crap, they’ll all get drowned, and the world will have a few less morons to deal with.


61 posted on 01/06/2010 10:43:02 AM PST by DGHoodini (Iran Azadi!)
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To: Fred Hayek

“The Sierra Club is no longer a conservation organization”

When were they ever a conservative organization? I joined them 34 years ago when I was 16, paid a $15 membership fee and went to one meeting. Not one person introduced themselves to me or even said hello. The entire crowd was 60’s hippies and the discussion topics were nothing but updates of the club’s actions against developers via the zoning process.

Im my naivete I thought they were an outdoor club.


62 posted on 01/06/2010 10:44:58 AM PST by Rebelbase
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To: DieHard the Hunter

Poaching is tantamount to stealing. You can only “poach” in someone else’s territorial waters. This was the open sea. Free to all.


63 posted on 01/06/2010 10:49:03 AM PST by Republic of Texas (Socialism Always Fails)
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To: jazusamo

Honestly, what did they expect when there running aroung looking like this...Jolly Roger and all.

64 posted on 01/06/2010 10:51:08 AM PST by TankerKC (But I used spell cheque.)
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To: Azeem
Under Admiralty law, they are pirates.

Under both Admiralty law and international laws of the high seas.

Having been warned verbally, acoustically, and visually (firehoses), not flying a flag, clearly trying to foul their rudder and other illegal/dangerous acts, the Japanese vessel, by law, could have machinegunned the boat and sunk it with lethal firepower.

Had this been a boat that I had chartered, my Barrett .50 cal. would be assembled and fired. Being left adrift, disabled, miles from port by an aggressive advisary requires justifiable self-defense, up to and including lethal self defense. The high seas, esp. the South Seas is NO place for games.

65 posted on 01/06/2010 10:52:00 AM PST by DCBryan1 (wake me when the shooting starts....then I will go feed the hogs.)
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To: Azeem
Under Admiralty law, they are pirates.

No argument. The Japanese should have taught them a lesson in Newtonian physics long ago.

66 posted on 01/06/2010 11:03:28 AM PST by Slings and Arrows (HALP UZ AL GOR. PLEEZ SEND GLOBUL WARMING.)
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To: jazusamo

Please don’t think I was criticizing. This story should be enjoyed by as many FReepers as possible.


67 posted on 01/06/2010 11:04:35 AM PST by Slings and Arrows (HALP UZ AL GOR. PLEEZ SEND GLOBUL WARMING.)
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To: Slings and Arrows

No, No. I didn’t mean it to sound like I thought you were criticising, I knew you weren’t. I meant to also say I thought it was a funny story.


68 posted on 01/06/2010 11:07:21 AM PST by jazusamo (But there really is no free lunch, except in the world of political rhetoric,.: Thomas Sowell)
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To: kingu

I left the below comments:

> Youtube view from Bob Barker,

Awww, Bobo fall down go boom!

> And the view from the Japanese ship

That’ll buff right out.


69 posted on 01/06/2010 11:10:31 AM PST by Slings and Arrows (HALP UZ AL GOR. PLEEZ SEND GLOBUL WARMING.)
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To: jazusamo

No worries. Let’s snicker some more.


70 posted on 01/06/2010 11:13:10 AM PST by Slings and Arrows (HALP UZ AL GOR. PLEEZ SEND GLOBUL WARMING.)
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To: DieHard the Hunter

I get it, its kinda like the guys who bomb abortion clinics because they think abortion is wrong. I understand and ‘GO YOU GUYS AND GALS’/s


71 posted on 01/06/2010 11:14:44 AM PST by BilLies
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To: Scythian

why ?


72 posted on 01/06/2010 11:36:29 AM PST by kennyboy509 (Ha! I kill me!)
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To: faucetman
These eco-nuts are pirates and should have been fired upon.Maybe the Japanese navy needs to send a cutter or frigate as escort and when these idiots try and intercept a legal enterprise on the high seas,they can be arrested as the pirates they are,and I wish they do resist,then I`d say open fire with their(Japanese`s) main gun and sink the bastards(eco-pirates).
73 posted on 01/06/2010 11:44:15 AM PST by nomad
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To: DieHard the Hunter
Then the Japanese navy can send a frigate and sink it,along with the eco-terrorists` other boats.
74 posted on 01/06/2010 11:49:25 AM PST by nomad
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To: DieHard the Hunter

International treaty which bans taking of whales permits this so called “research”. Change the law if you are agin’it.

The enviro wackjobs are assaulting the whalers. So far the whalers have shown restraint.

The enviro wackjobs are are escalting this not the whalers.

Its only a matter of time before the wackjobs get killed.


75 posted on 01/06/2010 11:54:10 AM PST by kennyboy509 (Ha! I kill me!)
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To: LonePalm
They probably had these hoisted:
76 posted on 01/06/2010 12:09:00 PM PST by sticker
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To: kennyboy509
Let's hope that Xe, LLC gets hired VERY QUIETLY by the Japanese to destroy these boats next time they get into harbor. I'd love to see a repeat of Rainbow Warrior.
77 posted on 01/06/2010 12:13:25 PM PST by DCBryan1 (wake me when the shooting starts....then I will go feed the hogs.)
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To: faucetman
The video I saw shows the whaling ship veering to starboard (right), then realizing they would run over the hippies boat, veered to port (left)to try and correct their ill considered tactic. This was attempted MURDER on the part of the whalers. Murder is not an acceptable response to someone throwing a stink bomb at your huge ship.

After you factor in the movement of the Bob Barker which was crossing the bow of the whaler and the sudden acceleration and slight left turn of the eco-boat, you have a different story ...

78 posted on 01/06/2010 12:24:13 PM PST by ColdWater ("The theory of evolution really has no bearing on what I'm trying to accomplish with FR anyway. ")
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To: faucetman
then realizing they would run over the hippies boat, veered to port (left)to try and correct their ill considered tactic.

The hippies boat was almost motionless and would have been missed until it accelerated and the whaler veered to port to try to avoid the hippies ill considered tactic.

79 posted on 01/06/2010 12:32:37 PM PST by ColdWater ("The theory of evolution really has no bearing on what I'm trying to accomplish with FR anyway. ")
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To: faucetman
The video I saw shows the .... hippies boat accelerating from a stop to cause the collision.
80 posted on 01/06/2010 12:35:16 PM PST by ColdWater ("The theory of evolution really has no bearing on what I'm trying to accomplish with FR anyway. ")
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