Greenpeace finds and engages the whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean

International — Southern Ocean, 21 December 2005 -- Two Greenpeace ships, the MY Esperanza and the MY Arctic Sunrise, today confronted the Fisheries Agency of Japan whaling fleet and called on it to "Leave the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary immediately." In eight inflatable's carrying banners which read "defending the whales" and "stop whaling" crew from the two ships declared their intention to block the hunt.

While the Greenpeace ships were relaying their message, two 'catcher ships' arrived on the scene with dead minke whales hung from their hulls, ready to be transferred to the fleet's factory ship, the Nisshin Maru. However, the Esperanza was blocking access to the Nisshim Maru's stern ramp and one 'catcher', the Kyo Maru Number One, twice tried to push the Esperanza out of the way, in the interest of safety the Esperanza pulled back.

"This whale hunt is unnecessary, unjustified, and unwanted," said Greenpeace Expedition leader Shane Rattenbury. In a radio call to the whaling vessels, from the bridge of the Arctic Sunrise, Yuko Hirono, of Greenpeace Japan called upon the whalers to stop killing whales "and leave the internationally recognised Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary."

Flying in the face of international protest and repeated calls from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to stop its annual 'scientific' whale hunt, this year the Fisheries Agency of Japan has more than double its planned catch of minke whales to 935 and added 10 endangered fin whales. Over the next 2 years 40 more fin whales will be added to the annual kill along with 50 humpback whales. Fin whales are the second largest creatures on earth, after blue whales.

"No one is fooled by the giant new "RESEARCH" sign which has been painted on the side of the fleet's factory ship, the Nisshin Maru. Once the whales are have been measured and weighed by the 'scientists' the onboard butchers get to work and the whales are cut up and boxed for market," said Rattenbury. "This is all about money and not science!"

Greenpeace is using every available means to bring the hunt to an early end and make it the last time the Sanctuary is breached by the whalers. This includes tracking the money behind the fleet.

Greenpeace, the Environmental Investigations Agency and the Humane Society of the US, have been tracking the money behind the whaling fleets. Greenpeace is currently focussing its attention on the US sea food giant Gorton's, the US frozen seafood market leader. US consumers are familiar with its 'friendly family business' image, but they are not so whale friendly. Gorton's is owned by Nissui USA, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nissui, Japan's second-largest marine products company, and one third of owner of Kyodo Senpaku, the company that operates the whaling fleet. Greenpeace is calling on Gorton's to use its influence to convince Nissui to bring an end to whaling.

"In a world were international public opinion is ignored and where high level diplomatic pressure has failed, Greenpeace hopes that consumers can once and for all demonstrate that there is no profit in whaling," said Rattenbury.

For more information on the campaign to defend the whales go to: http://oceans.greenpeace.org

Video and stills of whales being harpooned today and being transferred from the catcher ships to the factory ship and being cut open on board the factory ship are being transmitted from the Greenpeace ships and will be available within the next few hours.

http://oceans.greenpeace.org

===weblog repost===

NOTE FROM LALLY: Trying to get Shane (the expedition leader) to write a weblog was like trying to herd cats. So when it was discovered that he has been writing them all along for his friends - one of whom turned informer which is why I know of their existence - it was decided that they were just too good to let escape. So here is his latest one and I can assure you there will be more, because I know where he lives...

Dear friends

As I sit down to write to you, it is New Year's eve, and we are at the end of the seventh day in a row when no whales have been killed here in the Southern Ocean. Between Mother Nature whipping up some punishing weather, and our efforts to hound the fleet, the whales have had it pretty good for the past week.

Since I last wrote, you have probably seen some of our exploits in the media. For me personally, it has been a very emotional time. I thought I would try to tell you about it. It is hard to articulate the swirling emotions, the ongoing battles with seasickness, the images of dying whales, the exhilaration of (at least temporarily) stopping the hunt. Forgive me if this turns in to a rave.

On December 21, the longest day of the year in this part of the world, a day when it never gets dark, we finally found the fleet. After a month at sea, it was relief, excitement and sadness to finally have them in our sights. The day we found them was a beautiful blue sky day in Antarctica. We found the fleet on the edge of the ice shelf, surrounded by icebergs, and an area where the whales gather due to the abundance of food.

Our tactic on the first day was to simply let the fleet know we were here, to see what they were up to, and to show them we meant business. We launched all eight of our inflatable boats, and steamed towards the fleet. As we closed in, a pod of at least 15 orcas passed across the bow of the Artic Sunrise, perhaps welcoming the beginning of the battle to save the whales.

It soon became obvious what the whalers were up to. Our helicopter had been ahead earlier in the day scouting out the fleet, and had captured graphic footage of a whale being harpooned. The beautiful weather also meant ideal conditions for hunting whales, evidenced by the row of six whale carcasses lined up on the deck of the factory vessel.

Within minutes it was chaos on the water. As we surrounded the factory vessel in protest, a hunting boat returned with another dead whale. The plan changed now we were determined to stop the transferring process, in an attempt to slow down the hunting. The Esperanza was positioned perfectly, just behind the factory ship, and exactly where the hunting vessel needed to be to offload it's catch.

Undeterred, the whalers sought to press on with their dirty business. The water cannons were turned on to our inflatables, one was capsized in the chaos, unceremoniously dumping the crew in to the frigid waters. We watched nervously from the bridge, a collective sigh of relief as the two occupants emerged from under their little craft and clambered on to the hull of the overturned boat. Meanwhile, the hunter ship was moving up, twice bumping in to the Esperanza, trying to push her out of the way.

Ship collisions are not part of our tactics too dangerous at the best of times, let alone in this part of the world, but here was the whaling vessel with no such qualms. As the whalers closed in a third time, the Esperanza pulled away, ensuring no damage more serious than a scratched paint job. The inflatables continued to harass the fleet -- another was nearly sunk as the water cannons completely filled it with water. Less than an hour in to it, and we had two boats completely out of action.

In the middle of all of this, the phone rang. It was Karen Barlow from the ABC radio program AM. At this stage, we had not had time to advise the media we had found the fleet -- Karen was just ringing to see if there was any news! Great timing, giving her a chance to record the interview with me describing these events as they unfolded.

The day ended with the whaling fleet sitting in a circle, like an old wagon circle in a Western movie. As we patrolled around them, discarded pieces of whale carcass floated by on the water, reminding exactly what had taken place that day.

The next day our objective was to stop the hunt before it even started, putting ourselves in between the whale and the harpoon. Our inflatable boats are both fast and manoeuvrable, making them ideal for this job. The first crews launched, the Esperanza going in one direction after a hunting boat, the Arctic Sunrise going after another. On the bridge of the Sunrise, we watched and waited, wondering whether our plan would work. And soon it was -- the hunters could not get a clear line of sight on the whales. As the boat sped around, whales were escaping, slipping away amongst the icebergs.

As our helicopter buzzed overhead filming the chase, the pilot reported that a pod of five minke whales we had been defending had just escaped. Pure elation. That is the only way to describe the feeling as we battled on behalf of these beautiful and defenceless creatures.

The next emotion is much harder to describe. I jumped as the grenade harpoon tipped exploded in the whale. The harpooner has spied his chance, firing past our inflatable as a whale came up for air, not missing his target. A terrible silence. Lost for words, we could only stand and watch as the hunter began to reel in its prey. Looking across at the boat crew, they sat dejected in the inflatable, their failure tearing at them.

Soon the crew of the hunter vessel were bustling about, preparing to return to the factory ship with their catch. We followed them back, preparing to start again, as determined as ever. As they headed out again, it was my turn to get in the inflatable.

Standing on deck, feeling just like a penguin in my survival suit and several other protective layers (including three layers of gloves!), we prepared to launch. Soon we were bumping across the water, chasing fast after the hunting boat, dodging the lumps of floating ice. The hunter crashed through the water, men standing on the deck and in the crows nest peering through binoculars, looking for whales.

As we sped along next to them, I sat looking at the vessel. A crewman walked out on to deck, and saw me looking up at him. He turned and offered a friendly wave. I waved back. Such contrast to what was about to come.

The whalers soon had a whale in their sights, and immediately we moved in, right in front of the harpoon. There we three of us in the boat --Regine from Germany driving, Paul from Canada and myself the spotters -- looking for the whale, looking for ice, watching where the harpoon was aimed, and screaming directions to Regine over the roar of the engine. The whales appeared, the hunter shipped jagged towards them, we wheeled around, blocking the shot. The harpooner would step down as the whale disappeared again, then coming back to his post as another target appeared. The chase went on, a crazy, weaving battle of the wills, until we turned the wrong way, the harpooner got a clear sight and fired. That same sound. A feeling of emptiness, the quiet as our boat idled. The dead whale floated to the surface, blood pouring from its wound.

We returned to the Sunrise for a crew change. As we came back on deck, we were met with a quiet and knowing look a look of admiration for our efforts, and a look of sadness, the same look I had given the earlier crew. There is not much to say at such a time.

Over at the Esperanza, their efforts we proving to be more effective. We had installed a portable fire pump in one of their inflatables, which sent a spray of water directly in to the air, providing a screen that the harpooner could not see through to shoot whales. It took six and a half hours for that catcher to kill a single whale, much longer than usual. We may not have stopped them entirely, but we certainly slowed them down.

At the end of the day, the fleet got in to formation and steamed off. Suddenly they were running from us, trying to flee from the exposure and harassment we were bringing to bear on them. And so it has continued. For nine days now, the fleet has tried to sail away from us, stopping only briefly on Christmas eve to catch five more whales. Right now, the fleet is scattered, and no whales are being killed.

What are their plans? We don't know. All we know is that soon, they surely must start trying to hunt whales again. And all they know is that as soon as they do, we will be there trying to stop them.

I will write again soon to let you know what the next moves are, but in the meantime, the latest updates are at http://oceans.greenpeace.org/

regards Shane

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from sea shepard's website(http://www.seashepherd.nl/editorials/editorial_041115_1.html) about some of there takes on the situation.

Sea Shepherd News
News Releases

01/02/2006

Wrong Off the Press

Sea Shepherd Disputes the January 2, 2006 Guardian article

The January 2 issue of the Guardian (UK) has an article by John Vidal, the environmental editor, entitled "Greenpeace fights sea battle with rival anti-whaling ship."

To set the record straight, no one from Sea Shepherd spoke with Mr. Vidal. On the Sea Shepherd flaghship Farley Mowat which is in the Southern Ocean, Captain Paul Watson said he was surprised by the article.

“I know John personally. He sailed with us to the Faeroe Islands in 2001. I did not speak with him recently. What I can say is that the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has no conflict with the Greenpeace Foundation and we are fully in support of Greenpeace efforts in Antarctic waters.”

The article said that both groups are accusing each other of attempting to ram Japanese boats.

“We made no such accusation,” said Captain Watson, “And I am not aware of
Greenpeace making such an accusation against Sea Shepherd. As far as I am concerned both Sea Shepherd and Greenpeace are working towards a common objective – the shutting down of illegal whaling in the Southern Oceans.”

The article uses quotes from the past as if they were made on January 1st. Captain Paul Watson has had disagreements with the Greenpeace bureaucrats for years but has complete respect for the men and women who sail on Greenpeace ships.

“They are down here opposing the whalers. We need diversity in this movement and Greenpeace has one approach and Sea Shepherd has another. The bottom line is that we both oppose whaling and we are both dedicated to shutting down the illegal activities of the Japanese whalers,” said Captain Watson. “Greenpeace is not our enemy down here – the Japanese whalers are.”

Any of the crew on the two Greenpeace ships can attest that no one from the Farley Mowat has said anything negative about the their crews and no one on the Farley Mowat has heard anything negative from the Greenpeace crews. If there is a feud down here it is one fabricated by the media.

The article also includes a few more errors. The article states that Paul Watson’s lifetime Greenpeace membership number is 008. It is in fact 007. The article states that Sea Shepherd Conservation Society was founded in 1978. It was in fact founded in 1977. The article states that Captain Watson left Greenpeace in 1979. In fact he left in 1977 although he was a founding member of Greenpeace International in 1979. The article states that Captain Paul Watson has been accused of piracy and terrorism leading the reader to believe these are formal and legal accusations and not just the opinions of our opposition. There has never been a legal accusation of piracy or terrorism against Sea Shepherd Conservation Society or any of its officers, directors, or crew.

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is surprised that the Guardian and John Vidal would publish this story without speaking with anyone at Sea Shepherd or contacting Captain Paul Watson on the Farley Mowat.

The Guardian Article:


http://www.guardian.co.uk/conservation/story/0,13369,1676507,00.html
Greenpeace fights sea battle with rival anti-whaling ship

• Groups accuse each other of attempting to ram boats
• Report of Japanese warship sailing to area

John Vidal, environment editor
Monday January 2, 2006
The Guardian

A battle for what is being called "the high moral wave" was last night being fought off the wild coast of Antarctica as the world's two leading international marine protection groups fought each other over which would stop the Japanese whaling fleet.

With an international crew of volunteers, a helicopter, and a deep warchest, Greenpeace International has sent two boats, the Arctic Sunrise and the faster Esperanza, to the Southern Ocean to stop the Japanese whaling fleet as it tries to catch 900 minke, blue and other whales for "scientific research.”

Last night the group, which located and gave chase to the Japanese fleet before Christmas, claimed to have the whalers on the run in mountainous seas peppered with icebergs. "The fleet seems to be running in circles, stopping and going in different directions. It's the sixth day in a row that we have seen no whales transferred to the factory ship. It's unlikely that whaling is being undertaken," said a spokesman.

The animal rights protector Captain Paul Watson, who co-founded Greenpeace in the 1970s and later set up the more radical Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, was also in pursuit of the fleet yesterday in his ship, the Farley Mowat. Capt Watson, who accuses Greenpeace of being "the Avon ladies of the environment" and of being more interested in publicity than in enforcing international law, intercepted the Nisshin Maru factory ship on Christmas Day. Each environmental group now accuses the other of endangering lives by trying to ram its vessels.
Sea Shepherd had requested the presence of the Australian navy to monitor events in the Southern Ocean, but Australia's environment minister, Ian Campbell, said that Sea Shepherd's threats to attack the fleet "risk setting back the cause of whale conservation many years".

Capt Watson said yesterday: "Stop threatening us, Mr Campbell, and charge us if you believe we are acting unlawfully. Stop posing for the Japanese [who] are in blatant violation of international conservation laws."

Despite a short truce at Christmas in which the captains swapped greetings, Capt Watson and Greenpeace were at daggers drawn again yesterday with Sea Shepherd accusing the larger group of refusing to say where the Japanese fleet was.

"Greenpeace has misled Sea Shepherd and betrayed us. The Japanese fleet does not give a damn about protests. [Greenpeace] just take pictures and hang banners. We are down here to enforce international conservation law and to stop the illegal whaling operations."
Greenpeace retorted: "Greenpeace distance themselves from Sea Shepherd because of their inability to commit to non-violent tactics. But we'll do what we can to put bodies between harpoons and whales and protect the whales non-violently," said its spokesman Danny Kennedy. Capt Watson yesterday warned Greenpeace that Japan had dispatched a warship to the Southern Ocean to protect its whaling fleet and arrest the conservationists for piracy. This could not be confirmed.

Last night, the three conservation ships were reportedly trying to spot the Japanese harpoon vessels. "They are sweeping along the [Antarctic] coast corridor with radar and helicopter reconnaissance flights with the objective of ferreting out the positions of the illegal harpoon vessels," said a spokesman for Greenpeace.

Backstory

The bad blood between Greenpeace and Sea Shepherd goes back to 1979, when Captain Paul Watson, membership number 008, left the Greenpeace Foundation he helped set up in Canada in 1972. In 1978, he formed the Sea Shepherd society. While Greenpeace adopted an ethic of non-violence, Capt Watson, 55, believes in confrontation and has been accused of piracy and terrorism.

As we stated above, there has never been a legal accusation of piracy or terrorism against Sea Shepherd Conservation Society or any of its officers, directors, or crew. Sea Shepherd is contacting the Guardian to have the record corrected.

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