Japanese Whalers Escorted out of the Whaling Grounds 11FEB11

UPDATE ON SEA SHEPHERD'S OPERATION NO COMPROMISE....

Japanese Whalers Escorted out of the Whaling Grounds

The Japanese whaling fleet is heading eastward at full speed and is now east of the boundary for their whaling grounds. The eastern boundary of the Japanese whaling operations is 145 degrees west. The whaling ships and the two Sea Shepherd ships are now at 72 degrees south and 133 degrees west on a course of 145 degrees. With the Bob Barker and the Gojira in pursuit, the Nisshin Maru continues to head eastward at 14 knots.
Both the whaling ships and the Sea Shepherd ships Bob Barker and the Gojira are now closer to South America than to New Zealand and Australia. This position is 3000 nautical miles southeast of Hobart, Australia and 1700 miles southwest of Patagonia, Argentina.
The Nisshin Maru is making erratic course changes. “It’s like they spin the bottle every watch to see what course to set,” said Captain of the Bob Barker Alex Cornelissen. “There is no rationality in these course changes. They go east, then south, then west, then north and then back east again. In short, they are burning quite a bit of fuel, going absolutely nowhere, and without being able to kill a single whale.”
The Steve Irwin is southeast bound, out of Wellington, en route to rendezvous in about a week with the other two Sea Shepherd ships and the Japanese whaling fleet.

Bosun Benjamin Potts watches the Nisshin Maru and Yushin Maru No. 3
from the bow of the Bob Barker

The Yushin Maru No. 3 and the Nisshin Maru flee from the Bob Barker
(photos by Sam Sielen)

Operation No Compromise

Narrow Escape for the Gojira from SEA SHEPHERD 4FEB11

THE Japanese whaling fleet continues it's illegal activities in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, attempting to use deadly force against the boats and activist of Sea Shepherd. 

Whalers Throw Spears at Sea Shepherd Crew

Up close and personal with the Yushin Maru No. 3, a mere 10 feet away from the Gojira.
Photo: Simon Ager
The Yushin Maru No. 3 deliberately turned into Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’s ship the Gojira today in an attempt to ram and destroy the fast multi hulled vessel skippered by Captain Locky MacLean.
“It was like staring death in the face when that steel hull suddenly turned into us. We just narrowly avoided being cut in half,” said Captain MacLean.
Both vessels were on a parallel course, with the Yushin Maru No. 3 on the starboard side of the Gojira. Suddenly the Yushin Maru No. 3 made a hard turn to their port in an attempt to disable the Gojira.
Captain MacLean saw this in time to hit the throttle, effectively avoiding collision with the Yushin Maru No. 3 with the stern of the Gojira by a mere 10 feet.  
Delta boat operator Chad Halstead narrowly avoided being injured when one of the whalers threw a bamboo spear at the boat crew. Sea Shepherd crew recovered a few of these potentially lethal bamboo spears.
The Yushin Maru No. 3 approaching the stern of
the Gojira. Photo: Simon AgerThe Gojira and the small boats from the Bob Barker were harassing the Yushin Maru No. 3 with stink and paint bombs in an attempt to keep the whaler from tailing Sea Shepherd’s vessel the Bob Barker. The operation was a success. The Bob Barker has lost its tail and is now free to search out the Japanese Nisshin Maru factory ship.
With the Bob Barker escaping their grasp, the Yushin Maru No. 3 issued an international distress signal saying they were under attack by Sea Shepherd ships the Bob Barker and the Gojira. However, the Bob Barker was over seven miles away when the whalers issued their distress signal.
Both the Bob Barker and the Gojira acknowledged the distress signal and radioed the Yushin Maru No. 3 to inquire as to the nature of their distress. They were radioed three times in Japanese and in English but refused to reply.    
Despite the fact that Sea Shepherd responded to the distress from the whalers and recorded and monitored this acknowledgment, the Institute for Cetacean Research issued a media release accusing Sea Shepherd of not offering assistance when in fact assistance was offered three times.
The Gojira radioed the Yushin Maru No. 3 stating that they would not be hassled if they stopped trailing the Bob Barker. Sea Shepherd views the tailing of their ships as provocation.
The Bob Barker is now free and clear of the Yushin Maru No. 3 and able to continue the pursuit of the Nisshin Maru. The Bob Barker and the Gojira will continue to pursue and harass the Japanese whaling fleet while the Sea Shepherd flagship the Steve Irwin refuels and takes on supplies in Wellington, New Zealand.

Bob Barker's inflatable Delta boat is attacked by a bamboo spear thrown from
the Yushin Maru No 3 on February 4th, 2011

Click the header to go to Sea Shepherd to see the video
(Length: 31 seconds)

The Yushin Maru No. 3 approaching the stern of the Gojira. Photo: Simon Ager

Up close and personal with the Yushin Maru No. 3, a mere 10 feet away from the Gojira. Photo: Simon Ager

Operation No Compromise