Sea Shepherd Tailed By Japanese Mystery Ship - Sea Shepherd has new location of whaling fleet

[Barrett808]

Sea Shepherd Tailed By Japanese Mystery Ship
Sea Shepherd News
News Releases
01/21/2008

For three days the Sea Shepherd ship Steve Irwin has been tailed by a mystery ship. It’s not part of the whaling fleet but it is on a mission to keep on the tail of the Steve Irwin to report every movement of the Sea Shepherd ship.

The Fukuyoshi Maru No. 68 is a large drag trawler. It’s a fast ship and can easily stay out of reach of the Steve Irwin and never comes closer than 7 miles. The Sea Shepherd helicopter has flown over the ship and it is not equipped with any fishing gear that can be seen. No crew can be seen. There is evidence of electronic surveillance gear.

What is clear is that this ship has been commissioned by Japan for the sole purpose of tailing the Steve Irwin. There have been reports of armed Japanese police or military being placed on a ship and sent down to the Southern Oceans. It would make sense that they would do so covertly rather than openly. Sea Shepherd suspects that this is a government vessel or a vessel chartered by the government specifically as a defense support vessel for the Japanese fleet.

The Japanese whaling fleet is heading east according to confidential sources in Greenpeace who have relayed the position of the Greenpeace ship Esperanza to the Steve Irwin.

“We are back on their trail,” said Captain Paul Watson. “We have some catching up to do but we are after them again. We do have some disadvantages. First because of the Japanese ship tailing us, the Japanese fleet knows our position at all times. Secondly, because Greenpeace is guarding the coordinates of the fleet, we have a delay in getting this information. I just hope that we can keep them running and that they don’t begin killing whales before we reach them again.”

It has been 11 days straight without a whale being killed. To kill whales, they will have to stop and if they stop the Steve Irwin will catch them.

“What I would really like to do,” said Captain Watson, “is to rip one of those damn harpoon guns off the bow of one of their ships.”

http://seashepherd.org/news/media_080121_1.html

[Bonobo]

1. I guess they are just trying to protect themself.

It is reasonable -from their perspective. Perfectly reasonable, sensible, pragmatic.

A no-brainer, in fact.

[depakid]

2. Actually pretty fucking stupid

and it figures that such a response would come from an American.

Thus far, the new Australian labor government and New Zealand's response has been measured and diplomatic, even though a large majority of its citizens decry Japan's blatant violation of international law. To excallate the situtation only invites further measures- measures that will be supported by people worlwide- but particularly by citizens in THIS SPHERE OF INFLUENCE.

What we're seeing here is just the opening salvos of what will become an ever more serious efforts by nations to protect the fisheries from depletion by greedy and SHORTSIGHTED nations and corporations that jeopardize everyone's futures.

Just because mosr Americans rarely hear about such things like this doesn't mean that people in Oz are as disinterested and ignorant. Indeed, it's been a leading story on ABC several times over the past few weeks. It's all over the papers, and I've heard nothing in the way of support for the Japanese position, from anyone around here- save a comment or two in Murdoch owned papers.

On the contrary, average folks are getting riled up- so the Japanese would do well to back off.