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Activist ship and Japanese whalers collide
last update: Feb 08, 2010 01:35 PM
From various articles: Although on one was hurt in a second collision between Japanese whalers and protesters in Antarctic waters, New Zealand's Foreign Minister Murray McCully says that lives can be at risk.
There is little the New Zealand Government can do as no New Zealand-flagged vessel was involved, apart from ask those involved to act responsibly, according to McCully who said "The situation is very serious. There is a chance it will get more serious. Lives are at stake here."
On Saturday, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ship "Bob Barker" and the Japanese whaling ship "Yushin Maru 3" collided, causing a metre-long gash in the side of the protest vessel above the water line.
Both sides are blaming the other for the collision 180 nautical miles off Cape Darnley in the Australian Antarctic territory. It is the second time the Japanese whalers and the conservationalists clash this year. The Sea Shepherd's Adi Gil was hit by a whaling ship on January 6th and eventually sank.
In a press release, Sea Shepherd Conservation Socity claimed the "Yushin Maru 3" intentionally rammed the "Bob Barker", calling it a "continued escalation of violence" against the activists. The Institute for Cetacean Research fired back, releasing video to the media it said proves the "Bob Barker" intentionally rammed the "Yushin Maru 3". The Japanese fleet calls the SSCS tactics "terrorism."
According to Sea Shepards' Captain Paul Watson, the Japanese whalers now had security staff on board, and were willing to take much more extreme action against protesters. "The situation is becoming increasingly dangerous," Watson said, calling for the New Zealand Government to have rescuers on standby in the area.
Read more:
Sydney Morning Herald, 7th February 2010
All Headlines News, 6th February 2010
CBS13, 6th February 2010
Press.co NZ, 8th February 2010
BND.com - USA, 7th February 2010
SanLuisObispo.com, 6th February 2010
