Japan Won't Lower Guard of Whaling as Sea Shepherd Changes Tactics
Japan will not lower its guard over its whaling even though its biggest foe - the Sea Shepherd conservation group - has said it will not send ships to disrupt its fleet this year, a government official said on Tuesday. Paul Watson, founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, said in a statement on Monday the group’s limited resources made it difficult to compete with the military technology Japan employs to guard its whaling fleet and it would not send ships to the Southern Ocean this year. But an official at Japan’s Fisheries Agency was skeptical.
Whaling Protest Ship Collides with Japanese Harpoon Vessel
The Sea Shepherd conservation group ship 'Bob Barker' has collided with the Japanese whaling fleet harpoon vessel 'Yushin Maru No. 2' as the harpooners attempted to block them in a recent skirmish lasting about 6 hours in southern Antarctic waters. The incident, say Sea Shepherd, is an attempt to deter the protest ships from their current position, blocking the slipway of the Nisshin Maru, in order to prevent them from loading whales poached from the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.
Whaling Ship Stopped in the Southwest Pacific
At 2:50 p.m. (AEDT) today the captain of the Sea Shepherd Australia ship The Bob Barker, Peter Hammarstedt, reported his ship had just crossed into Australia's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) 200 miles off Macquarie Island, but a pursuing Japanese whale harpoon ship, Yushin Maru No. 3, has stopped one mile outside the zone. Federal Minister for the Environment Greg Hunt had been in touch with the Japanese authorities over the impending invasion of the Australian Whale Sanctuary, which includes the EEZ, by the harpoon ship.
New Whaling Protest Vessel Ironically Japanese-Built
Los Angeles-based philanthropist & co-creator of TV’s 'The Simpsons', funds purchase of new Sea Sherpherd anti-whaling patrol ship 'Sam Simon'. Sea Shepherd's new Antarctic patrol ship, the Sam Simon, has been unveiled in the port of Hobart, Tasmania, docked at Macquarie Wharf 1. The vessel, retired from service by the Japanese Government in 2010, had since been laid up in Shimonoseki, Japan, alongside the very ships Sea Shepherd will confront this season. Originally built as Seifu Maru in 1993 by IHI shipyard in Tokyo…
Earthrace Breaks Record, Joins Sea Shepherd
A year after the 100% biofuel eco-boat, Earthrace, finished its around the world dash, her international crew of volunteers have been officially named world record holders by the Union International Motonautique (UIM). The worldwide governing body for powerboating has confirmed that the team did break the ten-year old round the world speed record previously held by British boat, Cable & Wireless Adventurer, smashing the record by almost two weeks. The wave-piercing trimaran began the challenge from Sagunto, Spain on 27 April 2008.
