Japanese Whaling Supply ship sideswiped and chased by Sea Shepherd

The Sea Shepherd news release states in full:

Sea Shepherd Sideswipes Japanese Whaling Supply Ship

At 0030 Hours GMT - 09 Jan 2006 (1930 EST Hours - 08 Jan 2006): The flagship of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, the Farley Mowat, continues to chase the outlaw Japanese whaling fleet out of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary after sideswiping the Japanese whaling supply ship Oriental Bluebird.

Captain Paul Watson ordered the Japanese-owned Panamanian ship Oriental Bluebird to leave the Antarctic Whale Sanctuary. The Japanese supply ship was waiting to rendezvous with the Nisshin Maru to continue the off-loading of whale meat for transport back to Japan.

"I informed the Oriental Bluebird that I was acting under the authority of the United Nations World Charter for Nature to uphold international conservation regulations prohibiting the slaughter of whales in the Antarctic Whale Sanctuary. When they refused, we backed up the message by slamming our starboard hull against their starboard hull."

There was no damage apparent to either ship aside from a long scratch along the hull of the Oriental Bluebird caused by a device attached to the Farley Mowat’s hull called the "can opener." The blow was meant as a warning to convey the seriousness of our order for them to leave the area and to stop assisting with the illegal slaughter of whales.

After the collision, the Oriental Bluebird began running with the Farley Mowat in pursuit. Farley Mowat First Officer Alex Cornelissen reported. "We are not down here to protest whaling. We are here to uphold international conservation law. This ship is assisting an illegal operation and thus has no business in the whale sanctuary."

On the stern of the Oriental Bluebird are the words “whale meat” painted on the ship by Greenpeace activists yesterday. Says Cornelissen, “Greenpeace tagged the ship yesterday and we keyed it today.”

The Oriental Bluebird, now referred to as the S.S. Whale Meat, is desperately trying to rendezvous with the Nisshin Maru. Sea Shepherd believes that the number of whales that the Japanese are taking exceeds the carrying capacity of the factory ship and that it is essential for the Nisshin Maru to offload whale meat in order to continue. There is simply not enough room on the Nisshin Maru for 935 piked (minke) whales and 10 fin whales.

The Oriental Bluebird flies a flag of convenience, registered in Panama, and is operated by New Shipping Kaisha Ltd, Tokyo, Japan. The ship, formerly known as the Hiyo Maru, is a fleet replenishment vessel built in 1979. It is a double-hulled ship, approved for carrying oil as cargo, and is 143 meters long with a dead-weight of 9,751 tons. The Oriental Bluebird is listed as a supply ship for illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in a report titled “Flags of Convenience, Transshipment, Resupply and At-Sea Infrastructure In Relation To IUU Fishing” prepared in 2004 by International Oceans Network for the World Wildlife Fund.

Sea Shepherd believes that harassing the Oriental Bluebird is a tactic that can delay their illegal whaling operations. The Oriental Bluebird is no innocent bystander. It is very much a participant in this pirate whaling operation by Japan.

Background

The confrontation between conservationists and whalers in the Southern Ocean is increasing, with the deliberate ramming of the Arctic Sunrise by the Nisshun Maru on January 8, without regard to maritime regulations and potentialy endangering life. The whalers are under increasing pressure and will probably fail to meet their quota of 935 minke whales and 10 of the endangered fin whales this season because of the disruption by conservationists. There is also mounting public opposition for the continuation of Japanese 'scientific' whaling when it is obvious that it lacks scientific credibility, and is a subterfuge for the continuation of commercial whaling.

The Japanese fleet are fishing in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, established in 1994. The International Whaling Commission (IWC) voted to designate the Southern Ocean as a Whale Sanctuary by 23 votes to one, Japan objected and is the only country in the world which does not recognise the Sanctuary. In recent years the Japanese Fishing Agency has initiated a ‘vote consolidation programme’, where every year an increasing number of nations join to support an immediate resumption of commercial whaling. Some new members of the International Whaling Commission including Gambia, Mali, Togo, Benin, Gabon, Tuvalu and Nauru, who where recruited by and receive substantial aid from the Fisheries Agency of Japan.

This year Japan has doubled its self-awarded quota of minke whales to 935 and includes 10 fin whales for the first time. Fin whales are regarded as endangered and are the second largest creatures on earth, after blue whales. The catch is labelled as scientific research, but after the whales are measured and weighed, they are butchered to be processed as whale meat for the Japanese restaurant market.

Greenpeace found the Japanese whaling fleet on December 20 and disrupted the hunt on 21-22 December. The Nisshun Maru then fled at high speed north and west. On December 25 the Sea Shepherd intercepted the Nisshin Maru which threatened a collision with the Farley Mowat. The whale fleet travelled at high speed some 3000 nautical miles west where they refueled inside the Antarctic Treaty area, and then recommenced the whale hunt and slaughter after 11 days on the 5th January, slaughtering a whale calf. Though whaling has not stopped and whales are still being slaughtered, the placement of zodiacs between the whales and the harpoon has been effective in substantially slowing down the numbers of whales killed.

Japanese whalers are feeling the pressure. The whalers have turned to vilification, accusing Greenpeace of Piracy and Sea Shepherd of being a terrorist organisation. Greenpeace has rebuffed the accusations of piracy while Paul Watson has responded that the Japanese whalers are the real eco-terrorists.

Ominous signs are appearing of the whalers frustration. While hunting, it has become more common for harpooners to point their deadly weapon at the Greenpeace activists bouncing around in front of them, even when there are no whales in sight. Several harpoons have been fired hitting the whale and missing the Greenpeace activists by as little as a couple of metres.

The deliberate ramming of the Greenpeace Arctic Sunrise portends a new desperation on the part of the whalers. The Nisshin Maru left the Arctic Sunrise at high speed with a 1.5 metre dent in the bow and a damaged mast. While the crew of the Arctic Sunrise survey the damage and do repairs, they will proceed to follow the Nisshin Maru. The faster Greepeace boat, the Esperanza, is keeping pace with the factory ship.

The Japanese whaling fleet is composed of a factory ship, the Nisshin Maru, three harpoon ships: Kyo Maru No.1, Yushin Maru No.1., Yushin Maru No 2 and two spotter ships, the Kaiko Maru and Kyoshin Maru No. 2. A tanker/supply ship, the Panamanian registered Oriental Bluebird makes up a seventh ship in the whaling operation, providing refueling facilities, and also able to take whale meat for storage and transport.

Paul Watson details the crimes being committed by Japan:

1. The Japanese are whaling in violation of the International Whaling Commission's global moratorium on commercial whaling. The IWC scientific committee does not recognize this bogus research that the Japanese are using as an excuse.
2. The Japanese are killing whales in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.
3. The Japanese are killing whales unlawfully in the Australian Antarctic Territory.
4. The Japanese are targeting fin whales this year and humpback whales next year. These are endangered species, and thus, this is a violation of CITES, the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna.
5. The Japanese are in violation of IWC regulation 19(a) The IWC regulations in the Schedule to the Convention forbid the use of factory ships to process any protected stock: 19. (a) It is forbidden to use a factory ship or a land station for the purpose of treating any whales which are classified as Protection Stocks in paragraph 10. Paragraph 10(c) provides a definition of Protection Stocks and states that Protection Stocks are listed in the Tables of the Schedule. Table 1 lists all the baleen whales, including minke, fin, and humpback whales and states that all of them are Protection Stocks.
6. In addition, the IWC regulations specifically ban the use of factory ships to process any whales except minke whales: Paragraph 10(d) provides: “(d) Notwithstanding the other provisions of paragraph 10 there shall be a moratorium on the taking, killing or treating of whales, except minke whales, by factory ships or whale catchers attached to factory ships. This moratorium applies to sperm whales, killer whales and baleen whales, except minke whales.” Fin and humpback whales are both baleen whales and are subject to this moratorium.

See Also:

• Greenpeace Ocean Defenders Blog |
• Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
• Institute of Cetacean Research website

• Sea Shepherd Sideswipes Japanese Whaling Supply Ship - Sea Shepherd News release, January 8, 2006
• Melbourne Indymedia