The part of this story that actually got me was where they state that the Japanese were simply watching while Greenpeace was engaged in High Seas graffiti on the side of a Japanese vessel. International waters. Put a hole in their stinkin' inflatable.
------------------------------
http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20060108p2a00m0na011000c.htmlJapanese whaling ship collides with Greenpeace vessel, activists say
SYDNEY -- A Japanese whaling ship collided with a Greenpeace boat in Antarctic waters on Sunday, a spokesman for the environmental group said. No one was injured.
Greenpeace expedition leader Shane Rattenbury said his ship, the Arctic Sunrise, was carrying 25 people when it was rammed by the Nisshin Maru, a factory ship belonging to a Japanese whaling fleet. He called it "deliberate."
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.
"At the time, we were over a kilometer from the Nisshin Maru," Rattenbury told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. "There were no other vessels in the area and there was no reason to head towards us -- the Arctic Sunrise was virtually stopped at the time."
Greenpeace supplied photos of its damaged ship, but the cause of the destruction couldn't be independently verified. The Japanese Embassy was not immediately available for comment Sunday.
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 recognize Australia's jurisdiction over the waters. (AP)
Australian minister condemns conservation group's threat in whaling debate
January 8, 2006
