Whaling activists in ship clash, Japan hosts meeting
Source: Reuters
By Rob Taylor CANBERRA, Feb 13 (Reuters) - A Japanese whaling ship and protest vessels have collided in the Southern Ocean, with the protesters saying they will next ram a Japanese factory ship, despite Australian calls for them to back off before someone is killed. Japan, which is hosting a meeting of pro-whaling nations on Tuesday to seek changes to the International Whaling Commission, dubbed the anti-whaling protesters as terrorists after the clash late on Monday. A Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ship, Robert Hunter, collided with Japanese whale spotter Kaiko Maru in the Ross Sea, south of New Zealand, damaging the Japanese vessel's propeller and forcing it to send a distress signal, Japanese fisheries spokesman Hideki Moronuki said. The Kaiko Maru was rammed from both sides by the Robert Hunter and the Sea Shepherd flagship, Farley Mowat, leaving the boat temporarily disabled, Moronuki said. "They are terrorists and their activities are piracy," Moronuki told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio. But the protesters blamed the whalers for the collision, which left the Robert Hunter's hull holed, although the damage was not bad enough to force it to head back to port. "For all this talk about extremism down here, what is extreme is the killing of endangered species in a whale sanctuary," said Sea Shepherd founder and Farley Mowat captain Paul Watson. The Canadian said the Robert Hunter had been deliberately side-swiped by the Kaiko Maru, leaving gashes in the hull in two places and damaging the ship beneath the water line. The activists next planned to ram a vessel into the back of the Japanese factory ship Nisshin Maru on Tuesday to stop whales being hauled on board for processing, he said. "We're not going to sink their ship, we're just going to obstruct their activities. We'll probably have the Farley Mowat permanently stuck up their rear-end," Watson said. A special meeting of the International Whaling Commission begins on Tuesday, with host Japan and like-minded countries hoping the gathering will build momentum to resume commercial hunting of the giant creatures. Japan wants to shift the commission's focus to whale management rather than a moratorium, but with more than two dozen anti-whaling nations -- including Australia, New Zealand and the United States -- boycotting the meeting, prospects for dialogue in the polarised organisation appear slim. Only 34 of the IWC's 72 members are expected to attend the three-day meeting, which Japanese officials have termed a final attempt to save the IWC by drafting proposals to submit to the group at its annual meeting in May. Australian Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the activists should halt their harassment of the Japanese fleet after almost losing two crew members in fog last week. "This is not about whaling. It is simply unacceptable for any vessel to threaten or to use violence against other ships at sea. These are dangerous and irresponsible actions," said Turnbull. (With additional reporting by Elaine Lies in Tokyo)
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