Nisshin Maru leaves the Antarctic Treaty Zone. Pic: Eliza Muirhead / Sea Shepherd Australia
• UPDATE, January 9, PM: Harpoon ship stopped!
Friday January 10, 2014 – Melbourne, Australia — At 2:50pm AEDT today the captain of the Sea Shepherd Australia ship The Bob Barker, Peter Hammarstedt, reported his ship had just crossed into Australia’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) 200 miles off Macquarie Island, but the pursuing Japanese whale harpoon ship, Yushin Maru No. 3, has stopped one mile outside the zone.
Sea Shepherd Australia chair Bob Brown said that congratulations are due to the Federal Minister for the Environment, Greg Hunt, who had been in touch with the Japanese authorities over the impending invasion of the Australian Whale Sanctuary, which includes the EEZ, by the harpoon ship.
“Once again Sea Shepherd has seen the Japanese whaling fleet’s tactics thwarted. But we are mindful that the fleet is publicly committed to killing another 931 Minke Whales as well as 50 Fin Whales and 50 Humpbacks,” Dr Brown said.
Managing Director, Jeff Hansen, phoned the Hon. Minister Greg Hunt and passed on our Captains’ and crews’ sincere thanks and appreciation for his efforts. The hunt for the Japanese whaling fleet’s butchering ship, the Nisshin Maru can now resume.
The two remaining Sea Shepherd ships, The Steve Irwin and The Sam Simon, are currently patrolling the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary in pursuit of the Nisshin Maru, which has been running for five days with little likelihood of being able to stop to poach whales.
• UPDATE, January 9: Japanese harpoon ship closing in on Australian Whale Sanctuary
Thursday January 9, 2014 – Melbourne, Australia — The Yushin Maru No. 3, one of three harpoon ships of the Japanese whaling fleet, is currently approaching the 200 nautical mile limit of the Australian Exclusive Economic Zone surrounding Macquarie Island, and entering the Australian Whale Sanctuary. The ship is tailing the Sea Shepherd long-range vessel, The Bob Barker.
If the harpoon ship enters the Australian Whale Sanctuary, it runs the risk of contempt proceedings as a result of the Japanese whaling fleet’s continued breach of the 2008 Australian Federal Court injunction, handed down in the case instigated by Humane Society International.
In its decision, the Federal Court found that the Japanese whaling operation had contravened Australian Federal Law, and had “killed, injured, taken and interfered with Antarctic minke whales(Balaenoptera bonaerensis) and fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) and injured,taken and interfered with humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the Australian Whale Sanctuary in contravention of sections229, 229A, 229B and 229C of the Environment Protection and BiodiversityConservation Act 1999 (Cth).”
Sea Shepherd Australia has notified the Australian Environment Minister, Greg Hunt, of the approaching harpoon ship, calling for the Australian government’s intervention. Sea Shepherd Australia Managing Director Jeff Hansen has stated, “Sea Shepherd is asking Greg Hunt and the Abbott government to have the guts to stand up to these whale poachers and send a clear message to Tokyo, that they are not welcome in the Australian Whale Sanctuary.”
As yet, Mr. Hunt has not released a public response to Sea Shepherd’s request.
In January 2013, Shonan Maru No. 2, the security vessel of the Japanese whaling fleet, entered Australia’s EEZ in contempt of Australian Federal Law. The then-Federal Environment Minister, Tony Burke, ordered the Japanese government to remove their vessel from Australian waters.
Captain of The Bob Barker, Peter Hammarstedt, stated, “Just days ago, we collected undeniable proof that the Japanese whaling fleet is illegally slaughtering whales in an international whale sanctuary. These callous killers, who were captured on film with the butchered remains of a slain whale on their blood-stained decks, are now approaching the Australian Whale Sanctuary. Their presence here is illegal, their actions are immoral, and they need to be turned away immediately.”
Late last year, Mr. Hunt reneged on his pre-election promise to send an Australian Customs ship to the Southern Ocean to monitor the illegal whale hunt. Instead, the Australian government has committed to send an A319 aircraft, operated by Australian Customs personnel, to monitor the poaching operations of the Japanese whaling fleet.
On Monday, The Steve Irwin and The Sam Simon chased the Nisshin Maru north and away from Japan’s self-imposed hunting grounds in the Southern Ocean. The Sea Shepherd Fleet remains vigilant, currently patrolling the Southern Ocean for the whale poachers.
Aftermath of slaughter …
Dead Minkes on the deck of the factory ship
• UPDATE, Tuesday, January 7: Sea Shepherd drives whaling fleet into disarray and out of the Antarctic Treaty Zone
Tuesday January 7, 2014 – Melbourne, Australia — Yesterday, at 1650 AEDT, after a 360-mile chase, The Sea Shepherd Fleet drove the Japanese whaling fleet’s factory ship, the Nisshin Maru, out of the Antarctic Treaty Zone.
Sea Shepherd has all ships in the Japanese whaling fleet accounted for, and can confirm that the whale poaching fleet is scattered and currently not hunting whales. The harpoon ships are separated by hundreds of miles. The Nisshin Maru is on the run and unable to stop and whale in its self-designated whale-poaching grounds.
The Japanese whaling fleet was escorted across 60° S and past the northern limit of the Antarctic Treaty Zone by the Sea Shepherd ships The Sam Simon, The Steve Irwin and The Steve Irwin’s helicopter.
The three Sea Shepherd ships are still in the Southern Ocean and will continue patrols. Should the Nisshin Maru attempt to return to the whaling grounds, Sea Shepherd will be ready to once again intercept and shut down their illegal whaling operations.
Captain of The Steve Irwin, Siddarth Chakravarty said, “This is an optimistic start to Operation Relentless. Within a day-and-a-half we have the entire whaling fleet in disarray.”
Captain of The Sam Simon, Adam Meyersonsaid, “We have won this battle, but the war for the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary will wage on over the coming months.”
• Whales killed inside sanctuary
Tuesday January 7, 2014 – Melbourne, Australia — Yesterday, at 1650 AEDT, after a 360-mile chase, The Sea Shepherd Fleet drove the Japanese whaling fleet’s factory ship, the Nisshin Maru, out of the Antarctic Treaty Zone.
Sea Shepherd has all ships in the Japanese whaling fleet accounted for, and can confirm that the whale poaching fleet is scattered and currently not hunting whales. The harpoon ships are separated by hundreds of miles. The Nisshin Maru is on the run and unable to stop and whale in its self-designated whale-poaching grounds.
The Japanese whaling fleet was escorted across 60° S and past the northern limit of the Antarctic Treaty Zone by the Sea Shepherd ships The Sam Simon, The Steve Irwin and The Steve Irwin’s helicopter.
The three Sea Shepherd ships are still in the Southern Ocean and will continue patrols. Should the Nisshin Maru attempt to return to the whaling grounds, Sea Shepherd will be ready to once again intercept and shut down their illegal whaling operations.
Captain of The Steve Irwin, Siddarth Chakravarty said, “This is an optimistic start to Operation Relentless. Within a day-and-a-half we have the entire whaling fleet in disarray.”
Captain of The Sam Simon, Adam Meyersonsaid, “We have won this battle, but the war for the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary will wage on over the coming months.”
Monday January 6, 2014 – Melbourne, Australia — The Sea Shepherd Fleet has located all five vessels of the Japanese whale poaching fleet, including the Japanese factory ship, the Nisshin Maru, inside the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.
The Steve Irwin, The Bob Barker and The Sam Simon are now in pursuit of the whaling fleet, driving them away from their intended poaching grounds, disrupting their illegal hunt, and preparing to shut down their whale-killing operations.
The Steve Irwin’s helicopter first located the Nisshin Maru at 64°44′ S, 162°34′ W, in New Zealand’s sovereign waters in the Ross Dependency Antarctic region, and inside the internationally recognised Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.
Sea Shepherd has obtained compelling footage and images of three dead protected Minke Whales on the deck of the Nisshin Maru, taken at the time the factory ship was first located.A fourth whale, believed to be a Minke, was being butchered on the bloodstained deck.
Sea Shepherd Australia Managing Director, Jeff Hansen, stated, “The Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary has been tainted by the illegal slaughter of these beautiful and majestic Minke Whales by the ruthless, violent and barbaric actions of the Japanese whale poachers. No one will ever know the pain and suffering these playful, gentle giants went through from the time the explosive harpoon ripped through their bodies to the time they drew their last breath in a red sea full of their own blood. One thing is for sure, Sea Shepherd will do what ever it takes to ensure no more whales have to endure pain and suffering at the hands of these whale butchers from Japan.”
Captain of The Steve Irwin, Sid Chakravarty, said, “When ‘science’ requires you to grotesquely bloat up the bodies of protected whales, stroll across a deck smeared with their blood, hauling their body parts with hooks and chains, and discarding their remains over the side, then that ‘science’ has no place in the 21st Century. The Nisshin Maru is an out-and-out butcher ship and a floating butchery has no place in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. Sea Shepherd will remain relentless in driving these fake, desperate and subverting ‘scientists’ back to Tokyo.”
The Japanese whale poaching fleet operates in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary in contravention of the 1986 global moratorium on commercial whaling under the guise of scientific research. In June 2013, the government of New Zealand joined the Australian government’s challenge to the legality of Japan’s whale hunt in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary at the International Court of Justice. A judgement on the case is yet to be delivered.
Captain of The Bob Barker, Peter Hammarstedt, said, “Once again, the Japanese government has shown flagrant disregard for international law by continuing their illegal whale hunt while the world patiently awaits a decision from the International Court of Justice. The Japanese government’s dishonourable attempt the skirt the legal process is an insult to the cooperation demonstrated by people around the world, dedicated to enacting conservation laws out of a shared recognition for the need for environmental protection.”
Managed and led by Sea Shepherd Australia, Operation Relentless is Sea Shepherd’s tenth Antarctic Whale Defence Campaign. In its previous nine campaigns, Sea Shepherd saved the lives of over 4,500 whales.
Sea Shepherd Australia remains the only organisation committed to defend the integrity of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary by directly intervening against the illegal operations of the Japanese whaling fleet.
About Sea Shepherd Australia
Sea Shepherd Australia is a non-profit conservation organisation whose mission is to end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world’s oceans in order to conserve and protect ecosystems and species. Sea Shepherd Australia uses innovative direct-action tactics to investigate, document, and take action when necessary to expose and confront illegal activities on the high seas. By safeguarding the biodiversity of our delicately balanced oceanic ecosystems, Sea Shepherd Australia works to ensure their survival for future generations. Visit www.seashepherd.org.au for more information.
• Peter Whish-Wilson: Hunt must demand Abbott calls Japanese PM over whale slaughter
• Brett Whiteley MP Federal Member for Braddon, Media statement concerning Colin Russell It is my understanding that Mr Russell’s actions have cost taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars in extensive travel expenses for consular officials and in diverting time and resources from the regular duties of the Australian Embassy in Russia and the Department of Foreign Affairs in Australia. Although Mr Russell gleefully claims he has no regrets while potentially breaking the law of another country, Australian taxpayers should not foot the bill for his antics.
• Peter Whish-Wilson: Unprovoked attack on Tasmanian resident highlights Liberals’ ideological obsession The unprovoked attack on Tasmanian Colin Russell by Liberal MP Brett Whiteley highlights just how out of touch the Abbott government has become. … “In a week where Senator Bernardi takes it upon himself to attack single parents, Liberal MP Brett Whiteley has come out and attacked Tasmanian resident Colin Russell for simply getting caught up in the corrupt Russian legal system. “Rather than focussing on the job of governing, the Liberal Party in Tasmania continues to prosecute ideological wars. There has never been a new government so out-of-touch so soon into their first term. … “Brett Whiteley should stop playing ideological games at the behest of Eric Abetz and start delivering for the constituents of Braddon.
• Chris Harries, in Comments: Brett Whiteley, along with a number of public commentators, have been loudly condemning Colin Russell for ‘breaking the law of another country’. Does Brett really know what he is saying and what he is defending? Russia, under Vladimir Putin, has no patience with dissent and no tolerance for modern democratic values. Almost anybody who criticises the Putin regime is incarcerated as if they had committed a grave felony. In criticising Colin Russell for (allegedly) breaking the law of Russia Brett Whitely is overtly defending one of the most repressive political regimes in the world, for if Colin is guilty so then are all the other political prisoners incarcerated in Russian gaol cells for speaking their minds. The Tasmanian Libs seem to be full of admiration for Russia’s system of repression, appearing to want to emulate it here. What a far cry from the ‘small l’ Liberals of old!
