The Cold War at the Bottom of the Planet to Save the Whales

The Cold War at the Bottom of the Planet to Save the Whales
Commentary by Captain Paul Watson
On Board the Sea Shepherd ship Steve Irwin

The Australian Navy may just have to wade in to keep the peace.

The dark waters of the deep Southern Ocean may be icy cold but tensions are heating up under increasing pressures as the ships of the Japanese whaling fleet experience more and more aggravation from the whale defending groups Greenpeace and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

The morning of January 17th, 2008 witnessed the Sea Shepherd ship Steve Irwin in hot pursuit of five vessels of the Japanese whaling fleet. In front of the Sea Shepherd ship is the supply vessel Oriental Bluebird being escorted by the whaling vessels Kaiko Maru, Kyoshin Maru No. 2, and Yushin Maru. All four vessels are heading east.

To the south of the Steve Irwin heading eastward, also on a parallel course, is a fifth Japanese vessel, the Yushin Maru No. 2 with two Sea Shepherd hostages onboard.

The Steve Irwin is keeping track of the movements of the surrounding Japanese whalers by radar and regular helicopter surveillance flights. All these ships are in the area along the 60 degree Southern line of latitude and 80 degree Eastern Longitude. This is about 2130 nautical miles Southwest of Fremantle, Western Australia.

Behind this small flotilla of ships at a distance of nearly 600 miles is the Japanese Factory ship the Nisshin Maru shadowed by the Greenpeace ship Esperanza. Both these ships are heading directly for the Steve Irwin and all the ships of the Japanese whaling fleet.

Within two to three days all of these ships may be in one spot and it is an area outside of the boundaries of the whale killing grounds, deep in international waters where the laws are slipperier than the fish swimming below.

(more)

http://seashepherd.org/editorials/editorial_080117_1.html