[MARINE_BIOLOGY_INTERNATIONAL] Water cannon battles in the Antarctic Ocean

Japanese whaling fleet fires on activist ship
Beijing News.Net
Saturday 1st January, 2011
Activist ships are doing battle with a Japanese whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean, 1,700 nautical miles southeast of New Zealand.

Three vessels belonging to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society have held the Japanese vessels, including harpoon vessels the Yushin Maru, Yushin Maru 2, and the Yushin Maru 3 at bay. Clashes between the warring factions has prevented the Japanese sailors from pursuing whales. "What an awesome way to begin the New Year," captain of the Gojira Locky MacLean of Canada said Saturday.

"Our three vessels dancing dangerously through the ice packs locked in confrontation with the three harpoon ships of the Japanese whaling fleet. It was both deadly and beautiful. Deadly because of the ice and the hostility of the whalers and beautiful because of the ice, and the fact that these three killer ships are not killing whales while clashing with us."

The three Japanese harpoon vessels attempted to block Sea Shepherd's vessels including the Steve Irwin, Bob Barker, and Gojira from the pursuit of the Nisshin Maru factory ship. The Japanese fired water cannons at the activist vessels.

A spokesman for Sea Shepher said the entire Japanese whaling fleet is on the run, and when they are running they are not killing whales. Sea Shepherd's ships are chasing the slower factory ship the Nisshin Maru, while the faster Japanese harpoon vessels are chasing after Sea Shepherd's fleet, the spokesman said. Despite their speed, the harpoon vessels are not faster than the Gojira, and the Gojira, with aerial surveillance assistance from Sea Shepherd's helicopter the Nancy Burnet, is hot on the tracks of that floating abattoir the Nisshin Maru, according to the activist organization.

"We've got them before they were able to kill a single whale. They are not whaling today and our challenge now is to make sure they don't kill any whales in the coming days," Sea Shepherd campaign leader Captain Paul Watson said.

Established in 1977, Sea Shepherd is an international non-profit, marine wildlife conservation organization 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."