Paul Watson founder of Sea Shepherd with activists
The federal government's willingness to crack down on illegal whaling will be tested if Sea Shepherd's newest and only Australian registered vessel is rammed or attacked by Japanese whalers.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society on Monday launched its new interceptor vessel Gojira, named after the widely-feared monster of Japanese film known in English as Godzilla. The non-for-profit organisation's director Jeff Hansen said the Gojira will be a game-changer in this year's fight against illegal Japanese whaling as it can out-run harpoon vessels."This vessel can out-run any Japanese vessel, so it means we'll have the element of surprise and we can find the factory ship," Mr Hansen said. "The factory ship is the one we're after and if we can find it, we can shut down whaling.
"We save 10 to 12 whales a day by blocking the slipway on the factory ship so really this vessel is going to play a huge part in shutting down the Japanese whaling fleet for the entire summer." The Gojira set off from Fremantle on Monday to join the Steve Irwin and Bob Barker in Hobart before leaving on December 2 to defend the Southern Ocean whale sanctuary.
Its captain, Locky MacLean, said having the fast, new vessel combined with Japanese whalers still to leave port, it was anticipated Sea Shepherd would be able to stop all whales from being slaughtered this year. "If we can get down there before they do we can stop them straight off the bat which would be a big blow to the whaling industry down there," Mr McLean said.
"Last year we followed them for 45 days and during the 45 days they didn't kill a single whale. If we can do that again this year and be there right when they get there, we've got a full quota on our side." The Gojira is Sea Shepherd's first Australian registered vessel, with Fremantle as designated as home port, and will have Australian citizens on board.
In January the crew of Sea Shepherd's protest boat the Ady Gil claimed they were rammed by a Japanese whaling ship in the Southern Ocean but New Zealand authorities found both vessels were at fault. Mr Hansen said the federal government would be tested in its response if a similar incident occurred with the Gojira.
"We hope the Australian government, if there's any issues down there, that they will step up and defend a vessel that's named and birthed as a home port in Australia and has Australian citizens on board," he said.
"We hope the Australian government will have the guts to take on the whalers."
"We save 10 to 12 whales a day by blocking the slipway on the factory ship so really this vessel is going to play a huge part in shutting down the Japanese whaling fleet for the entire summer." The Gojira set off from Fremantle on Monday to join the Steve Irwin and Bob Barker in Hobart before leaving on December 2 to defend the Southern Ocean whale sanctuary.
Its captain, Locky MacLean, said having the fast, new vessel combined with Japanese whalers still to leave port, it was anticipated Sea Shepherd would be able to stop all whales from being slaughtered this year. "If we can get down there before they do we can stop them straight off the bat which would be a big blow to the whaling industry down there," Mr McLean said.
"Last year we followed them for 45 days and during the 45 days they didn't kill a single whale. If we can do that again this year and be there right when they get there, we've got a full quota on our side." The Gojira is Sea Shepherd's first Australian registered vessel, with Fremantle as designated as home port, and will have Australian citizens on board.
In January the crew of Sea Shepherd's protest boat the Ady Gil claimed they were rammed by a Japanese whaling ship in the Southern Ocean but New Zealand authorities found both vessels were at fault. Mr Hansen said the federal government would be tested in its response if a similar incident occurred with the Gojira.
"We hope the Australian government, if there's any issues down there, that they will step up and defend a vessel that's named and birthed as a home port in Australia and has Australian citizens on board," he said.
"We hope the Australian government will have the guts to take on the whalers."
The Age
Sea Shepherd
Post Title
→Sea Shepherd's new interceptor vessel targets whalers
Post URL
→https://national-grid-news.blogspot.com/2010/11/sea-shepherd-new-interceptor-vessel.html
Visit National-grid-news for Daily Updated Wedding Dresses Collection
