Ding Ding Ding, we have a winner! After years of trying to find a captain dumber than paul watson, greenpeace finally found their man!
GREENPEACE has failed to prevent the refuelling of the Japanese whaling factory ship Nisshin Maru at sea in the Antarctic, increasing the vessel’s endurance against anti-whaling activists.
Greenpeace campaigners yesterday ran a gauntlet of icy water cannon from above when they squeezed a small boat between the factory ship and its resupply vessel, Oriental Bluebird, temporarily delaying the refuelling.
But as the ships’ hulls came together, the activists moved clear and the refuelling lines were hooked up.
“It was too dangerous to stay,” said Dave Walsh, a spokesman on the Greenpeace ship Esperanza.
Oriental Bluebird has been delayed from refuelling the Nisshin Maru for up to 10 days as the factory ship tried first to steer clear of activists from Greenpeace and Sea Shepherd, and then weathered Southern Ocean gales.
But without a refuelling capability for their own ships, both groups must guard reserves, and Greenpeace has just spent 10 days chasing Nisshin Maru.
“For sure, it’s an issue,” said Greenpeace International’s whales campaign director, Sara Holden. “We said all along we can only stay for a limited period of time.”
Sea Shepherd’s leader, Paul Watson, indicated that his ship might have greater endurance. “The Steve Irwin is prepared to chase the Japanese fleet for weeks of need be to keep them from illegally targeting whales,” he said.
But Sea Shepherd was yet to make contact with Nisshin Maru after losing the remainder of the fleet on Friday. Greenpeace said Nisshin Maru was refuelled south of the 60 degrees south line, offending against the Antarctic Treaty, of which Japan is a signatory. Treaty members usually comply voluntarily with environmental management measures designed to limit damage in the global nature reserve.
“Japan, as a party to the treaty, must comply with the letter and the spirit of the treaty, not refuel within the treaty area, and comply with annex IV on the Prevention of Environmental Pollution,” Greenpeace said in a statement.
Japan’s administrative Vice-Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Toshiro Shirasu, said in Tokyo that for safety reasons whaling had not resumed while Greenpeace continued to obstruct the fleet.
He said Japan had urged the Netherlands, which has registered the Steve Irwin, to properly deal with it after last week’s incident when two Sea Shepherd activists boarded a catcher boat and were detained before the Australian Government patrol ship Oceanic Viking intervened.
Mr Shirasu defended the whaling as legitimate research on whale resources.
