Fire aboard Japanese whaling ship Nisshin Maru ends Antarctic killing early

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, March 2007:

 

 

Fire aboard Japanese whaling ship Nisshin Maru ends Antarctic killing early

 

Japanese Institute of Cetacean Research whaling within

Antarctic waters ended for the winter on February 24, 2007--far

short of meeting a self-assigned quota of 935 minke whales, 50

humpback whales, and 50 fin whales. The latter are both

internationally designated endangered species.

" At around 17:30 today, " posted the crew of the Greenpeace

vessel Esperanza, " the expedition leader of the Japanese

government's whaling fleet radioed, informing us that the Nisshin

Maru--disabled nine days ago by fire--plans to sail in three hours.

" This is a relief, " the posting continued. " After nine long

days, the whaling fleet is finally leaving the Ross Sea, and the

unsullied environment of the Southern Ocean. "

The Nisshin Maru on February 15 caught fire in a below-deck

processing area. Most of the 148-member crew were evacuated,

leaving 26 to fight the blaze. One crewman, Kazutaka Makita, 27,

was killed by the fire.

The catcher vessel Kyoshin Maru returned his remains to

Japan, ahead of the rest of the five-ship whaling fleet.

The Nisshin Maru, the only working " factory ship " for whale

processing left in the world, also caught fire in 1998, en route to

the Antarctic. It made a controversial emergency stop at Noumea in

New Caledonia. Reportedly most of the Nisshin Maru electrical parts

and wiring were replaced.

The Esperanza and the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Polar Sea

stood by this year while the Nisshin Maru lay " rafted up " for

emergency repairs between the tanker Oriental Bluebird and the

catcher vessel Yushin Maru.

Conservationists feared that a bad turn of weather might

force the Japanese ships to separate, and that the Nisshin Maru,

without power, might hit an iceberg. The Nisshin Maru, with more

than 340,000 gallons of oil aboard, was reportedly about 110 miles

from the world's largest rookery of Adele penguins.

Greenpeace offered to tow the Nisshin Maru to safety with the

Esperanza, a former Russian firefighting ship, whose master had 10

years of salvage towing experience.

But Japan refused Greenpeace help. A spokesperson called

Greenpeace " terrorists " for trying to disrupt whaling--although

Greenpeace has emphasized a conciliatory approach this year.

A Greenpeace online travelogue about Japanese whaling

communities, posted at www.whalelove.org/wagon for 10 weeks

coinciding with the whaling voyage, included an episode in which a

Spanish visitor to an elderly Japanese woman's home eats whale meat

with her and proclaims it delicious.

" We are making very clear that we have no problem with

Japanese culture or eating whales, " Greenpeace spokesperson Emiliano

Ezcurra, of Argentina, told Agence France Presse. While opposed to

whaling in Antarctic waters, Ezcurra added, Greenpeace does not

object to coastal Japanese " subsistence whaling, " a longtime target

of protest by Greenpeace cofounder Paul Watson, who broke with

Greenpeace in 1977 to form the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

Sea Shepherds

Flying the " Jolly Roger " as self-proclaimed pirates, the Sea

Shepherd ships Farley Mowat and Robert Hunter stalked the Japanese

fleet for weeks. Barred from registration by six nations in six

months, the Farley Mowat sailed from Australia only hours before

losing Belize flagging, while the Robert Hunter's British

registration expired just as the ships returned to Melbourne in

mid-February.

The Sea Shepherds finally caught the whalers on February 8.

Initial skirmishing included tossing stink bombs on the deck of the

Nisshin Maru, attempts to plug the ship's blood drains, and

attempts to foul the propeller with a cable.

On February 9, a Sea Shepherd inflatable vessel piloted by

Karl Neilsen, 29, of Australia, and John Gravois, 24, of the

U.S., collided with the Nisshin Manu and suffered a cracked hull.

Neilsen and Gravois anchored the inflatable to an iceberg and awaited

rescue, hidden in heavy fog for about eight hours, with a

malfunctioning radio.

Watson issued a maritime distress call, obliging the Nisshin

Maru to join in the search until Neilsen and Gravois were found.

On February 12 the Robert Hunter crossed in front of the

catcher vessel Kaiko Maru as it pursued a pod of whales, according

to a Sea Shepherd press release. This allowed the whales to escape.

" The Kaiko Maru then came alongside the Robert Hunter and

swerved into the starboard side to push it into some ice, " the Sea

Shepherds said.

" The Robert Hunter's hull was penetrated, and a large hole

was ripped into the forward compartment area above the main deck.

" Both ships then moved into the ice, " the Sea Shepherds

continued, " and began to work their way out of the floe, when the

Kaiko Maru backed up and rammed into the stern port side of the

Robert Hunter. " (See page one photo.)

Within another day, low fuel forced both the Farley Mowat

and Robert Hunter to return to Melbourne--but not before Watson

threatened to ram the Farley Mowat into the intake ramp at the stern

of the Nisshin Maru.

" The Sea Shepherd ships were about 1,000 miles from the

Japanese whaling fleet when the fire erupted in the factory area of

the Nisshin Maru, " Watson posted on February 17. " Despite this

there are already accusatory rumors. "

On landing, police swarmed over the Robert Hunter, a former

Scottish fisheries patrol vessel.

" They're assessing the damage to our hull to try to determine

exactly who rammed whom, " Watson said. " Our position simply is that

if we had rammed the Kaiko Maru then we would admit to ramming it.

We have no problem with that. On this occasion, though, " Watson

said, " it was the Japanese ship that deliberately targeted us. The

video footage and forensic evidence of the damage will show who

rammed whom.

" We were hit below the water line, " Watson added, " and

will need to get the ship lifted out of the water " for drydock

repairs, expected to cost about $50,000.

The Robert Hunter, after refueling and resupplying in

Australia, was scheduled to sail to the North Atlantic to protest

against the recent Icelandic resumption of whaling and the Atlantic

Canada seal hunt. Repairing the hull, however, may keep it in

Melbourne until next winter, when the Japanese whaling fleet is

expected to return to Antarctic waters.

The Farley Mowat, launched in 1958 as a Norwegian

anti-submarine patrol vessel, is to be retired after 10 years as the

Sea Shepherd flagship.

 

--

Merritt Clifton

Editor, ANIMAL PEOPLE

P.O. Box 960

Clinton, WA 98236

 

Telephone: 360-579-2505

Fax: 360-579-2575

E-mail: anmlpepl

Web: www.animalpeoplenews.org

 

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