Japan may abandon whale hunt

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http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/2154EDAA-9D17-4722-A8C1-23E1BC3F5BAD.htm

 

Japan whalers 'may abort hunt'

The Japanese fleet had planned to hunt for

more than 900 whales this season [Reuters]

Japan's annual whaling season could be cut short if the lead ship in the

Japanese fleet which was crippled by fire on Wednesday, has to dock for

repairs, fisheries officials in Tokyo have said.

 

Hajime Ishikawa, an official at Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research, said

the remainder of the hunting season would depend on " the extent of damage " .

Ishikawa said it would be difficult to hunt if the *Nisshin

Maru*needed repairs as it was " the only vessel able to process (the

captured

whales) " .

 

The fleet had planned to hunt up to 945 whales in the annual Antarctic

whaling season which runs between mid-December and mid-March.

 

* " There is absolutely no oil leak. Concerns of an oil spill are completely

unfounded. " *

 

Hideki Moronuki, Japan Fisheries Agency

Meanwhile officials have also denied that the factory ship was leaking oil

or posed a threat to the fragile Antarctic environment.

 

Without power after the fire, the ship has been drifting close to

Antarctica's Cape Adare which hosts the world's largest penguin breeding

rookeries.

 

Hideki Moronuki, a Fisheries Agency official, rejected fears of an

environmental disaster and said the cause of the fire was being

investigated.

 

" There is absolutely no oil leak. Concerns of an oil spill are completely

unfounded. "

 

The fire which broke out below deck in the processing area of the

8,000-tonne ship was contained by the crew but the engine was damaged and

rescue operations were hampered by choking smoke.

 

On Friday, crew members connected power cables from the Yuishin Maru,

another whaler which pulled up alongside the stricken vessel.

 

*Search*

 

The *Nisshin Maru* is the main factory ship

for processing capture whales [Reuters]They were using fans to clear the

smoke in order to resume the search for a crewman missing since the fire

broke out, a Japanese official told The Associated Press.

 

A New Zealand maritime official said the Japanese crew members were waiting

for the fire, fuelled in part by whale oil, to burn itself out.

 

" They have to wait until it's cooled down enough to get inside and look for

the missing crewman. We don't believe he's gone overboard, so the fear is

that he was trapped inside and perished in the fire, " Steve Corbett, a

Maritime New Zealand spokesman, said.

 

" They have managed to pump off excess water from the fire fighting, so the

ship is no longer listing, but they haven't managed to re-enter the space to

find the crewman or assess damages. "

 

*Boycott*

 

News of the fire came as pro-whaling members of the International Whaling

Commission wrapped up a meeting on Thursday in Tokyo issuing a statement

accusing anti-whaling countries of " imperialism " for imposing a ban on

commercial hunts.

 

The special meeting hosted by Japan was boycotted by half the commission's

membership including anti-whaling nations the US, Britain and Australia,

aimed at reforming the IWC.

 

Japan has threatened to quit the commission unless it is reformed and is

calling for a return to " managed " commcercial whaling.