Japanese whaling ship hits conservationists' boat
Source: Agencies |
January 7, 2010, Thursday
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A CONSERVATION group's boat had its bow sheared off and was taking on water yesterday after it was struck by a Japanese whaling ship in the frigid waters of Antarctica, the group said.
The boat's six crew members were safely transferred to another of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's vessels, the newly commissioned Bob Barker, named for the American game show host who donated US$5 million to buy it.
The clash was the most serious in the past several years, during which the Sea Shepherd has sent vessels into far-southern waters to try to harass the Japanese fleet into ceasing its annual whale hunt.
Clashes using hand-thrown stink bombs, ropes meant to tangle propellers and high-tech equipment have been common in recent years, and crashes between ships have sometimes occurred.
The society said its vessel Ady Gil - a high-tech speedboat that resembles a stealth bomber - was hit by the Japanese ship the Shonan Maru near Commonwealth Bay and had about 3 meters of its bow knocked off.
Locky Maclean, the first mate of the society's lead ship, said one crewman from New Zealand appeared to have suffered two cracked ribs, but the others were uninjured. The crew members were safely transferred to the group's third vessel, the Steve Irwin, though the Ady Gil's captain remained on board to see what could be salvaged, he said.
"The original prognostic was that it was sinking, but at this point it is flooded with water but it seems to still have a bit of buoyancy," Maclean told The Associated Press by satellite phone.
The group accused the Japanese ship of deliberately ramming the Ady Gil.
"They were stopped dead in the water when the incident occurred," Maclean said of the Ady Gil.
Glenn Inwood, a New Zealand-based spokesman for the Institute of Cetacean Research, the Japanese government-linked body that carries out the hunt, said video shot from the whaler showed the conservationists' boat moving toward the whaler just before the collision.
The boat's six crew members were safely transferred to another of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's vessels, the newly commissioned Bob Barker, named for the American game show host who donated US$5 million to buy it.
The clash was the most serious in the past several years, during which the Sea Shepherd has sent vessels into far-southern waters to try to harass the Japanese fleet into ceasing its annual whale hunt.
Clashes using hand-thrown stink bombs, ropes meant to tangle propellers and high-tech equipment have been common in recent years, and crashes between ships have sometimes occurred.
The society said its vessel Ady Gil - a high-tech speedboat that resembles a stealth bomber - was hit by the Japanese ship the Shonan Maru near Commonwealth Bay and had about 3 meters of its bow knocked off.
Locky Maclean, the first mate of the society's lead ship, said one crewman from New Zealand appeared to have suffered two cracked ribs, but the others were uninjured. The crew members were safely transferred to the group's third vessel, the Steve Irwin, though the Ady Gil's captain remained on board to see what could be salvaged, he said.
"The original prognostic was that it was sinking, but at this point it is flooded with water but it seems to still have a bit of buoyancy," Maclean told The Associated Press by satellite phone.
The group accused the Japanese ship of deliberately ramming the Ady Gil.
"They were stopped dead in the water when the incident occurred," Maclean said of the Ady Gil.
Glenn Inwood, a New Zealand-based spokesman for the Institute of Cetacean Research, the Japanese government-linked body that carries out the hunt, said video shot from the whaler showed the conservationists' boat moving toward the whaler just before the collision.
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