Protest boat damaged in clash with whaling ship

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 freezing waters of Antarctica, the group said.

The boat’s six crew were safely transferred to another of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’s vessels, the newly commissioned Bob Barker. The boat is named for the American game show host who donated €3.5 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 stink bombs, ropes meant to tangle propellers and hi-tech sound equipment have been common in recent years, and crashes between ships have sometimes occurred.

The society said its vessel Ady Gil – a hi-tech speedboat that resembles a stealth bomber – was hit by the Japanese ship the Shonan Maru near Commonwealth Bay and had about three metres 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, 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 Associated Press by satellite phone from the ship, the Steve Irwin.

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.

“When they realised that the Shonan Maru was aiming right for them, they tried to go into reverse to get the bow out of the way but it was too late. The Shonan Maru made a course correction and ploughed directly into the front end of the boat.”

Glenn Inwood, a New Zealand-based spokesman for the Institute of Cetacean Research, the Japanese government-linked body that carries out the hunt, disputed Sea Shepherd’s account, saying video shot from the whaler showed the conservationists’ boat moving toward the whaler just before the collision.

Japan’s Fisheries Agency said it was still checking details about the clash. Spokesman Toshinori Uoya said there were no injuries on the Japanese side.