Global outcry as cops board anti-whaling ship

23 Feb 2009

1

The row between whalers and anti-whaling activists intensified last week when Australian police boarded a militant anti-whaling ship, the Steve Irwing, belonging to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, which had earlier clashed with Japanese whalers on the high seas, and seized logbooks and other material.

The ship's crew said the whalers were seeking to confiscate footage of the gruesome killing of a whale. Skipper Paul Watson said officers armed with warrants met his ship, the Steve Irwin, when it docked in the southern city of Hobart late on Friday. They advised him they were authorised to seize video and audio recordings, photographs, notes, log books, GPS records and other navigational information.

Australian police said they had launched an investigation at the request of the Japanese authorities, who this year complained after activists hurled bottles of rancid butter at the whalers and tried to board the ship. However, they declined to say whether the investigation related to a specific incident.

"As a result of a formal referral from the Japanese authorities the AFP (Australian Federal Police) is currently undertaking preliminary enquiries into the events that allegedly occurred in the Southern Ocean," a spokeswoman said. She declined to comment on whether police boarded the ship or removed items.

Japan, which says that whaling is part of its culture, hunts up to 850 whales each year in the Antarctic Ocean despite strong objections from political allies Australia and New Zealand. But for the previous two seasons its catch was curbed, largely due to the intervention of environmentalists.

Watson said Tokyo was applying acute diplomatic pressure to prevent the Sea Shepherd crew showing footage taken during this year's whale hunt to the general public. "It's a very one-sided affair," he said.

"The Japanese ships have not been boarded by the Australian Federal Police; they have not had their video and navigational data confiscated. They have not been questioned nor will they be, yet they violently attacked my ship and crew in the Southern Ocean."

Watson called off his pursuit of the whalers earlier this month, saying the escalating conflict was becoming too dangerous and could result in death.

Japan kills whales using a loophole in a 1986 international moratorium on commercial whaling that allows "lethal research" on the mammals, and makes no secret of the fact that the animals' meat is then served as food.

Watson said he welcomes a formal inquiry from the AFP. He believes the seized footage is more damaging for the Japanese than it is for his crew.

"It seems to me that we didn't do anything but uphold international conservation laws, something that the government has been promising to do ever since it was elected and has not done," he said.

"I guess we'll have to go to court hopefully and get all this information out and exposed through that court case. It doesn't seem like anybody is taking the Japanese whalers to court anytime soon."

'Dramatic' footage
The seized film depicts some of the most dramatic whale-killing scenes ever seen, crew on the Steve Irwing told journalists.

Tasmanian crew member Andrew Perry said the video footage was harrowing because the Japanese whalers had become more brazen by the end of the hunting season and for the first time slaughtered a whale in full view of the Steve Irwin.

Perry said the footage, taken from the ship's helicopter, showed a whaler's explosive-tipped harpoon piercing a whale. "The whale was then pulled alongside the (Japanese) boat and it was shot seven times with a shotgun."

He said the helicopter crew, filming for TV documentary show Animal Planet, then saw the whale thrashing and could hear it screaming.

Perry said the slaughter took more than 20 minutes. "It was an incredibly distressing thing to behold," he said. "We have never been able to get footage like that before. It's going to be damning."

Watson said he was not told whether the police action stemmed from a complaint by the Australian Government or from the Japanese.

He said the Steve Irwin had never been searched before but he would welcome any charges that led to the crew facing a court. "My position is that if they want to put me on trial for anything connected with this, then I am happy to do it," Watson said.

"We are not there protesting, we are down there to stop a blatantly criminal activity, to stop whaling in a whale sanctuary. These actions have to go to court somewhere, so let's start it here."

Capt Watson said the conservationists had risked their lives during the campaign and were willing to risk their freedom.

He said the campaign had ended four days earlier than intended because it was clear the Japanese whalers were "out of control". "They were frustrated, violent and attacking us," he said. "I didn't want to get any of them killed or any of us killed."

The Steve Irwin was involved in its most extreme and dangerous clashes this season, culminating with the activist vessel crashing into the stern of the Yushin Maru 3 on 7 February.

Watson's crew said they were pelted with scrap metal, blasted with high-powered water canons and attacked with military-grade sonic weapons.

The incident has created waves globally, with greens wholeheartedly backing the Steve Irwin and its crew.

Greens leader Nick McKim, MP said the Sea Shepherd activists were doing the job of Prime Minister Rudd's Labour government, which was elected in 2007 while talking tough about whaling, but which has since done very little to back up its pre-election words with post-election action.

Business History Videos

History of hovercraft Part 3...

Today I shall talk a bit more about the military plans for ...

By Kiron Kasbekar | Presenter: Kiron Kasbekar

History of hovercraft Part 2...

In this episode of our history of hovercraft, we shall exam...

By Kiron Kasbekar | Presenter: Kiron Kasbekar

History of Hovercraft Part 1...

If you’ve been a James Bond movie fan, you may recall seein...

By Kiron Kasbekar | Presenter: Kiron Kasbekar

History of Trams in India | ...

The video I am presenting to you is based on a script writt...

By Aniket Gupta | Presenter: Sheetal Gaikwad

view more