Japanese Whale Killing Ships Head Home!

[Guest guest]

[Japanese Whale Killing Ships Head Home! Please boycott all Japanese products!

I'm embarrassed to say I have a Japanese car. It will be the last one I ever buy

though. I'm going to go with European cars from now on, unless the U.S. shocks

me by starting to make some decent hybrid cars. Rick.]

 

 

The Death Star Returns to the Land of the Rising Sun

 

Sat, 24 Feb 2007 21:26:55 -0800

 

From Captain Paul Watson

 

No More Whales Will Die This Season.

 

Finally, the burnt out hulk of the whale killing floating factory called the

Nisshin Maru is limping out of the Antarctic treaty zone, the stench of rotten

whale meat lingering in its wake. The whale killing fleet is now slowly heading

north to Japan . There will be no stopping in New Zealand for repairs. A stop

there will result in legal issues that could tie the ship up for years and the

whale meat onboard would be confiscated.

 

The whaling fleet has a long way to go to reach Tokyo and the crew will be

mourning the loss of one crewmember and remembering the opposition by Sea

Shepherd that left their decks reeking of rotten butter and awash with the blood

of the whales caused by Sea Shepherd crew sealing the bloody deck flensing

outlet drains. It is a ship that reeks of death, burnt flesh, gore and blood,

and it looks and smells like the Death Star that it is.

 

The image of the Nisshin Maru retreating from the Antarctic Whale Sanctuary is

joyous news for all people who love whales. This ship is the single greatest

whale killing machine of all time and the only thing more pleasing to us would

be to see its total destruction. Fortunately this did not happen, because the

sinking of the ship would have been an ecological disaster.

 

Whaling is now officially ended for the 2006/2007 season and the unofficial

final whale body count appears to be less than 500 whales of their 960 targeted

Piked whales. It is not known how many of the targeted Fin whales were killed.

 

The Nisshin Maru is severely damaged. The main engine was started but

electrical systems are barely functioning. The whale processing equipment is

ruined. The winches used to haul up the whales are inoperable. The cargo of

whale meat onboard has been partially if not completely spoiled by loss of

refrigeration and intense heat. In addition the whale meat has been contaminated

by chemicals used to fight the blaze and spilt during the fire.

 

The disaster has highlighted the fact that the Nisshin Maru is an

environmental disaster waiting to happen. This year, Antarctica ’s wildlife was

spared the tragedy of an oil and chemical spill that would have occurred if the

8,000 ton ship had sunk with hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil and an

unknown amount of chemicals like ammonia and chlorine.

 

This is the second serious fire on the Nisshin Maru in 10 years. The vessels

are not ice-class. Japan has put their pride before any concern for the

protection of Antarctic eco-systems and wildlife. Their lust to kill whales has

become obsessive and is blinding their common sense.

 

“What Japan has just demonstrated over the last 10 days,” said Captain Paul

Watson , “is a total contempt for international concerns for the environmental

protection of Antarctic wildlife. This whaling fleet is an ecological time bomb

and the potential for disaster is a real and ever present danger when they are

down in the Whale Sanctuary illegally slaughtering endangered whales.”

 

The whaling fleet spotting vessel the Kaiko Maru is also heading home marked

with the scars of their deliberate collision with the Sea Shepherd ship Robert

Hunter . The Japanese crew on both the Nisshin Maru and the Kaiko Maru saw first

hand the dedicated courage of our international volunteers in action during the

confrontations. They were days they will not soon forget.

 

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is already preparing to return to the

coast of Antarctica in December 2007 to once again intervene against illegal

Japanese whaling activities.

 

“We have discovered weaknesses with the Japanese ships that can be exploited

given the right equipment. We learn more about these ruthless killing machines

every year.” Said Farley Mowat Captain Alex Cornelissen . “Next year if they

return to kill Humpbacks and Fins, we will have to take a more aggressive stand

to stop these poachers.”

 

The targeting of 50 Humpbacks and 50 Fin whales for the 2007/2008 season is a

line in the sand where the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is prepared to take

a stand.

 

“We cannot abide, tolerate or ignore such a blatant slaughter of the highly

endangered Humpbacks.” Said Captain Paul Watson . “The Humpback is the symbol of

our organization and a part of our logo and we will defend this species as

aggressively as we can. Our position on the Humpbacks and the Fins is zero

tolerance”

 

The 2006/2007 campaign is now officially over. The efforts of the Sea Shepherd

Conservation Society have highlighted the on-going illegal activities of the

Japanese whaling fleet. Our message was that the Japanese whalers were killing

highly endangered whales in an international whale sanctuary in violation of the

global moratorium on commercial whaling. Japan is engaged in numerous

international crimes and they must be opposed and they must be shut down.

 

This year, call it fate, call it karma, or call it the will of God but

whatever it is, the results have been wonderful for the whales and all of us at

Sea Shepherd are extremely satisfied with the ignoble retreat of the ruthless

killers of the gentle giants as their disgraced and damaged ships limping

shamefully home stinking with the corpses of their innocent victims.

 

Our message to the Japanese whalers. “We hope your damages are so severe you

will not be back next year but if you are, we will be there waiting for you and

we will not be as polite as we were this year.” Said Captain Paul Watson .

 

The Sea Shepherd ships Robert Hunter and Farley Mowat are now docked in

Melbourne . Preparations have already begun to outfit a campaign to intervene

against the possibility of a return of the whaling fleet in December.

 

 

 

 

Captain Paul Watson

Founder and President of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (1977-

Co-Founder - The Greenpeace Foundation (1972)

Co-Founder - Greenpeace International (1979) of the Sierra Club USA (2003-2006) - The Farley Mowat Institute - www.harpseals.org

 

 

 

 

" Sail forth - steer for the deep waters only,

Reckless O soul, exploring, I with thee and thou with me,

For we are bound where mariner has not yet dared to go,

And we will risk the ship, ourselves and all. "

- Walt Whitman

 

 

 

 

www.Seashepherd.org

Tel: 360-370-5650

Fax: 360-370-5651

 

 

 

Address: P.O. Box 2616

Friday Harbor , Wa 98250 USA

 

 

 

 

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