Whalers on the run as Greenpeace gives chase

Whalers on the run as Greenpeace gives chase
Frank Walker and Andrew Darby
January 13, 2008



The catcher boat Yushin Maru passing us in the fog.
©Greenpeace/Jiri Rezac

A Greenpeace protest ship was chasing a fleet of Japanese whalers in the Southern Ocean last night.

A spokesman aboard the Greenpeace vessel Esperanza, Sara Holden, said the six Japanese ships fled when they were found early yesterday after a 10-day search.

"The first thing they did when we approached them was scatter and run," Ms Holden said. "It was foggy but we could see them on the radar and the mother ship Nisshin Maru passed us quite close, about half a mile. We have been chasing it ever since at about 15 knots. The good thing is as long as they are running from us they can't kill any whales.

"We'll keep chasing them for as long as we can. If they do stop to hunt whales, we will use all non-violent means to try to stop them."

Greenpeace has repeatedly radioed the whalers and told them to leave the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. It has also told them that its protest would be non-violent.

Sea Shepherd is Moving In On the Japanese Whaling Fleet
Sea Shepherd News
News Release
01/12/2008

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is about one day away from making contact with the Japanese whaling fleet.

"We know where the Greenpeace ship Esperanza is and if Greenpeace is in contact with the Japanese fleet, Sea Shepherd will be there as quickly as we can cover the distance between our two positions," said Captain Paul Watson from onboard the Sea Shepherd ship Steve Irwin.

The Greenpeace ship Esperanza is with the Japanese fleet. Peter Hammarstedt, the 2nd officer of the Steve Irwin called the Esperanza to speak with the Captain but was informed that the Captain was sleeping and was not to be disturbed. Mr. Hammarstedt spoke with Karli Thomas the Greenpeace expedition leader and congratulated her on finding the Japanese fleet and said that since Sea Shepherd gave Greenpeace the coordinates last year would they repay the favor and provide Sea Shepherd with the coordinates this year? Ms. Thomas replied that as expedition leader she did not have the authority to release that information nor did the Captain of the Esperanza. She added that Greenpeace was withholding the information for security reasons.

Although The Captain of the Esperanza and the expedition leader are under strict orders by Greenpeace International to not release the coordinates to Sea Shepherd, Captain Watson is a co-founder of Greenpeace (1972) and co-founder of Greenpeace International (1979).

"We have our sources in Greenpeace. There are quite a few disgruntled Greenpeacers who are opposed to Greenpeace's policy of non-cooperation. They are being very helpful," said Captain Watson.

There is not much cooperation down here in this region known as the Cooperation Sea (4500 hundred kilometres southwest of Fremantle) amongst anti-whaling groups. The Australian government is refusing to provide any information to Sea Shepherd while providing information on Sea Shepherd to the Japanese government. Greenpeace absolutely refuses to provide information to Sea Shepherd.

The position of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is that we will provide information as we get it to the world at large, to other groups and to the government of Australia.

"The least we can do in the Cooperation Sea, is to do our best to cooperate with everyone," said Captain Watson. "After all, this is about saving whales from illegal whaling activities. We encourage Greenpeace to be aggressive and wish them well with their opening act in this high seas drama. Sea Shepherd is preparing for the Grand finale."

http://seashepherd.org/news/media_080112_1.html

Greenpeace chases Japan fleet out of hunting ground
Fay Burstin
January 14, 2008 12:00am

GREENPEACE has chased Japan's whaling ships out of their hunting ground and is in high-speed pursuit of the controversial fleet.

After a 10-day search through icy Antarctic waters, Greenpeace protest ship Esperanza found Japan's six-ship whaling fleet on Saturday in the Southern Ocean whale sanctuary.

Greenpeace expedition leader Karli Thomas, speaking from aboard the protest ship, said the environmentalist crew was following the whaling fleet at about 15 knots, maintaining a gap of about two nautical miles (3.7km) between the ships.

She refused to reveal the Esperanza's position but confirmed the fleet of floating slaughterhouses had been chased out of both the hunting ground and research areas.

"So long as they're on the run, they're not whaling and we're pretty pleased about that," Ms Thomas said.

(more)

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23047449-662,00.html

Cowardly Whalers Running Scared Out of the Whale Sanctuary
Sea Shepherd News
News Releases
01/13/2008

The Japanese whaling fleet is running scared with both the Greenpeace ship Esperanza and the Sea Shepherd ship Steve Irwin on their tail.

The Japanese factory ship the Nisshin Maru is heading Northwest around 58 Degrees South and 67 Degrees East about 360 miles southwest of Heard Island. The harpoon vessels are scattered with only one, the Yushin Maru in close proximity to the Nisshin Maru.

The whaling fleet is running and has covered over 400 miles in the last 36 hours. They are heading out of the Whale Sanctuary hoping to shake their pursuers in heavier weather.

“I have no doubt about who they are running from,” said Captain Paul Watson onboard the Steve Irwin. They know we’re not trying to catch them to take their picture.”

The Esperanza has the Nisshin Maru in sight. The Steve Irwin is in full pursuit and gaining on the position of the Esperanza and the Japanese factory ship.

“These cowards come down here and slaughter defenseless innocent whales but they run scared at the first hint of retaliation. So much for the samurai spirit, these craven whalers are an embarrassment to their nation,” said Captain Watson.

“As long as the Japanese whalers are running, they will not be killing whales. If they stop to kill whales, we will catch up with them,” said Steve Irwin’s 2nd Officer Peter Hammarstedt of Sweden. “And when we do catch them, we won’t be sitting down to tea with them - we intend to make this a season for them to remember.”

The Steve Irwin with a crew of 34 has fuel resources to pursue the Japanese whalers for another 30 days.

(more)

http://seashepherd.org/news/media_080113_2.html