Report shares blame for whaling collision

[The Straight Story]

Report shares blame for whaling collision

An investigation has laid blame on both anti-whaling vessel Ady Gil and Japanese whaling ship Shonan Maru No. 2 for their Southern Ocean collision earlier this year.

The Ady Gil was on a Sea Shepherd Conservation Society mission aimed at stopping Japanese whaling when it crashed into the Shonan Maru on January 20.

The impact tore off 3.5m of the Ady Gil's bow and left a cameraman aboard the trimaran with a suspected fracture to his rib.

The boat's skipper, conservationist Peter Bethune, was later put on trial in Japan after trying to make a citizens arrest of the Shonan Maru No. 2 captain.

A Maritime New Zealand investigation has found both vessels disobeyed international anti-collision rules for "close quarters" encounters.

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