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…
Whaling Ships Embark on Research Trip
According to a Kyodo News story, a fleet of whaling ships recently left Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, to conduct a scientific research program on whales in the Antarctic for the Tokyo-based Institute of Cetacean Research. During the expedition, the institute plans to catch 10 fin whales for the first time. It also plans to double the amount of catch of minke whales to about 850. In June, the International Whaling Commission adopted a nonbinding resolution urging Japan to scrap its research program at its annual meeting in Ulsan, South Korea. Source: Kyodo News.
