Posted under Whaling
Well it looks like the Japanese ploy of running around with the Greenpeace ship Esperanza “chasing” them (more like leading them on a “Tiki” tour …) has paid off and they are now low on fuel and have to leave the whaling fleet and return to port.
The Australian Oceanic Viking is still on station shadowing the fleet and continues to monitor what they are up to. The fleet may or may not resume whaling… They have been ordered not to be filmed hunting whales.
Meanwhile, Steve Irwin appears to have more “legs” and is steaming up the rear but is not 100% sure where the fleet actually is. Greenpeace still refuse to share/help Sea shepherd/make public domain (delete as necessary!) the fleets coordinates… “Shame on you” (as they were so fond of saying when I was helping detain some of them when they climbed the razor wire on a Salisbury plain US nuclear exercise many years ago…)
The Steve Irwin has traveled over 1,200 miles since January 18, the day the Japanese returned the two Sea Shepherd crew they held hostage. The Japanese spy ship Fukuyoshi Maru No. 68 is still tailing the Steve Irwin and is relaying the position of the Sea Shepherd vessel to the whaling fleet and they know that Sea Shepherd will be on them if they stop to whale. Japan’s Institute for Cetacean Research have rejected the claims made by Sea Shepherd, that a Japanese warship was being sent to Antarctica to protect the fleet against the activists. Technically the Fukuyoshi Maru No. 68 is not a warship… but I wonder who is onboard…
“It’s been one hell of a chase,” said Steve Irwin’s 1st Officer Peter Brown. “And the great thing about it is that there has not been a whale killed down here for over two weeks. If the whalers think they are going to run us out of fuel, they still have some time to go. If they stop to whale we’ll catch them and if they keep on running fast, they won’t be killing any whales.”
All this running around the Southern Ocean is costing the Japanese dearly in time and money. So, in a way, both Greenpeace and Sea Shepherd’s missions have been a partial success so far. The more uneconomic the whaling becomes the more opposition there will be by the Japanes people and government.
According to Sea Shepherd..
The Japanese whalers will not get their quota this year and it will have cost them a great deal more money for their operations than any year before. And they still have next year to deal with. If we can get the support, I intend to bring two ships back here for the 2008/2009 season with a longer range helicopter and a crew of committed and dedicated volunteers willing to take the required risks to keep these cowardly whale poachers on the run.
There are no shortage of volunteers I can tell you!
The “Death Ship” - Nisshin Maru
A gutsy move from Captain Wilson and the suprised Japanese trawler turned around and ran West with the Steve Irwin in pursuit!! The helicopter and inflatable had a good look around the trawler and it appears there are no crew on deck… I wonder if it’s full of Japanese military or police ? Why is it following Sea Shepherd around ? What is a trawler doing in the Antarctic Treaty Zone ?
