Greenpeace hounds Japan over whale deaths

Environmental group Greenpeace said today that it would continue hounding Japan’s whaling fleet despite a damaging collision between the whalers and a protest ship.

“No amount of bullying or intimidation will prevent us from defending the whales nor from broadcasting images of the kills to the world,” Shane Rattenbury, leader of a Greenpeace protest group that has been harassing Japanese whalers in Antarctic waters southwest of Australia, said in a message posted on the group’s Web site.

Another environmental group, Sea Shepherd, also is chasing the whalers.

Greenpeace claimed that a Japanese whaling ship deliberately rammed its ship Arctic Sunrise yesterday, but Japan responded by blaming Greenpeace for the crash, which left the Arctic Sunrise with a dented bow.

Hiroshi Hatanaka, director-general of Japan’s Institute of Cetacean Research, said the Arctic Sunrise’s bow hit the side of the Nisshin Maru twice.

“The captain of the Nisshin Maru confirmed to ICR today that Greenpeace had rammed our vessel, which has sustained some damage. Luckily, no crew members were injured,” Hatanaka said in a statement.

“Greenpeace and Sea Shepherd should stop at once their dangerous and criminal actions,” he added.

“Greenpeace knows which part of the ship is strongest and which part of any other vessel is the weakest – we believe they deliberately rammed our vessel to prevent it from transferring cargo,” Hatanaka said.

Yesterday, Rattenbury said the Arctic Sunrise was carrying 25 people when it was rammed by the Nisshin Maru, a factory ship belonging to a Japanese whaling fleet.

Greenpeace said the whaling ship was watching over activists onboard inflatable rafts as they painted the words “whale meat from sanctuary” on the side of a nearby Japanese supply vessel, shortly before the collision occurred.

The Arctic Sunrise has been chasing Japan’s whaling fleet in Antarctic waters for almost two weeks, hampering their hunt for 850 minke whales and 10 fin whales as part of Japan’s scientific research program.

The research whaling is permitted under the rules of the International Whaling Commission, but Australia and other anti-whaling countries say it is really commercial whaling in disguise. The ships sell the whale meat in Japan.

Australian environmental groups have been repeatedly denied permission by a federal court to sue a Japanese whaling company for allegedly killing minke whales in Antarctic waters, which the Australian government has declared a whale sanctuary.

The courts have ruled that Australia cannot legally stop a whaling company hunting in international waters protected by Australia, because Japan doesn’t recognise Australia’s jurisdiction over the waters.