Sea Shepherds Collide with Japanese Whale Murderers
About Michael John ScottMr. Scott is the owner and publisher of Mad Mike's America. He is a U.S. Army veteran, career law enforcement executive, and dog trainer. He is a university professor, and criminal justice consultant, holding several degrees, including a master's in criminal justice and human services. He has completed the requisite coursework toward his doctorate, and is still working on his dissertation.
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The Japanese have been stilling Nature’s beating hearts for centuries, not in their own country, where they respect and even worship creatures great and small, but everywhere else in the world. They are especially hard on the creatures living in the ocean, such as whales and sharks, with them taking millions of the latter every year to celebrate weddings by making so-called shark fin soup and the former for their meat and blubber, sold at open markets and Japanese restaurants with impunity.
There are the heroes, however, like the Sea Shepherds, who, unlike Greenpeace recently, are not afraid to take the offensive in their battle to save the beleaguered whales. For several years they have haunted the whale murdering Japanese who try to convince the free world that their whaling is for “research” purposes. Another lie spread by a voracious nation intent on driving nature’s creatures to extinction for their own greedy purposes.
Here’s the story from TVNewZealand:
The Prime Minister has this morning called for “cool heads” to prevail as the battle between Sea Shepherd activists and Japanese whalers intensifies.
There are more claims and counter claims about dirty tactics between the two parties in the Southern Ocean, with both groups releasing new videos and photographs today of a collision in the Southern Ocean.
John Key said it is “very dangerous and treacherous waters”.
“We can’t provide immediate support if something goes potentially wrong there and we think cool heads should prevail.”
He said New Zealand has made its view very clear in regards to whaling.
“We are not a party directly to the case that the Australians are bringing to the International Court of Justice, but we are participating in that process and my view would be that we’d like to see an end to whaling in the Southern Ocean”.
Japanese whalers claim the images and video show anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd ramming their harpoon ship to prevent refuelling between the tanker and the Japanese whaling fleet’s 8,000-tonne factory.
The Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR), a Japanese group that runs the whaling programme, said in a release that on February 25 around 1200JST until about 1500JST during refuelling operations, the Nisshin Maru and her supply tanker were “again subject to sabotage by the Sea Shepherd ships Steve Irwin, Bob Barker and Sam Simon”.
It said the Sea Shepherd’s Bob Baker vessel collided with the Nisshin Maru and its fuel tanker ship at least five times, as the activist ships repeatedly forced their way between the Nisshin Maru and her supply tanker.
It said the Nisshin Maru used its water pump as a preventive measure to make the Sea Shepherd vessels refrain from further approaching and “repeatedly broadcast a warning message to stop them”.
“However, in order to secure safety, the Nisshin Maru decided to interrupt her refuelling procedure due to the extremely dangerous and foolhardy behavior of Sea Shepherd vessels. The Sea Shepherd vessels perpetrated a similar obstructive attack on February 20.”
No Japanese crew members were injured, ICR said, and the damage to the ships was yet unknown.
The ICR said allegations that there was oil spillage during the research vessels refuelling operations were unfounded.
The Sea Shepherd had a different account of the collision, saying the factory ship Nisshin Maru rammed Sea Shepherd’s vessel Bob Barker twice on Monday afternoon, causing it to collide with the tanker Sun Laurel.
It uploaded their footage of the collision to YouTube with the description: “Bob Barker gets sandwiched, drenched and assaulted by flash grenades from the Whaling poachers and doesn’t surrender!!”
Sea Shepherd said “a flash bang grenade” was thrown by the whalers.
The group says it was attempting to block a refuelling operation in the Australian Antarctic Territory, the same action that sparked a dangerous confrontation last week.
Sea Shepherd says a Japanese military icebreaker, the Shirase, has arrived to assist the whalers.
“The Nisshin Maru is attempting another illegal … refuelling operation in Australia’s Antarctic Territory, with a massive Japanese Naval Ship, the Shirase, available for backup,” the group’s Facebook site said.
Sea Shepherd says two of its ships, the Steve Irwin and Sam Simon, had their engine rooms flooded by water cannons and it has responded in kind.
“The Steve Irwin’s water cannons have been engaged, the crew have been instructed not to aim them at any people on the poaching vessels,” the group said.
The 12,500-tonne Shirase, which can carry 250 people and three helicopters, is operated by the Japan Maritime Self Defence Force tasked with the naval defence of the country.
Federal environment minister Tony Burke yesterday issued a please explain to Japan about the ship’s role, suggesting it was exploiting a loophole by assisting the Korean tanker rather than the Japanese whalers directly.
Japan introduced scientific whaling to skirt a commercial whaling ban under a 1986 moratorium. It argues it has a right to monitor the impact of whales on its fishing industry.
- With AAP
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James Smith
February 26, 2013 at 1:37 pm
Let’s call it what it is. The Japanese are liars. hHey don;t give a damn about anything but their own profits and enjoy thumbing their noses at the international community.
Perhaps if economic sanctions were imposed, such as a 50% import duty on all Japanese products, that might get their attention. THe Koreans and the Chinese would be happy to take up the slack in exporting to the USA and the rest of the world.
Michael John Scott
February 26, 2013 at 1:50 pm
James I agree completely, however sanctions aren’t likely to happen. For some reason America still feels guilty about dropping The Bomb during WWII, and the Japanese are allowed to get away with anything it seems.
James Smith
February 26, 2013 at 1:54 pm
All true, but the USA is not alone in this. Other countries will probably have to lead the way.
I personally see no reason to feel guilty. An invasion of Japan would have devastated most of the country and killed most of its citizens. Look at the condition of Europe an 1946. Why doesn’t the USA feel guilty about that?
Michael John Scott
February 26, 2013 at 7:21 pm
I don’t disagree James, but circa 1947-1950, the United States offered amnesty to Japanese war criminals, some were already in custody awaiting execution. These were in almost all cases the brutal guards posted to POW camps. The reason the US gave: the Japanese people have suffered enough. Right….
James Smith
February 27, 2013 at 5:01 am
There was the incident at the same time when the USA hanged Japanese officers for torturing American POWs. The torture? Waterboarding. How times have changed. Per the USA, waterboarding is not torture. I guess it depends upon who is doing what to whom.
Jim Moore
February 26, 2013 at 3:15 pm
I have enormous admiration and respect for Sea Shepherd. This isn’t the only environmental group to risk the lives of volunteers to defend their stance. Many have died in the name of environmental advocacy.
I expect that Sea Shepherd’s on ocean actions may be backed by US, Japanese and international advocacy, but I never hear about those efforts. Much as with the “tree spikers” and heavy equipment saboteurs, Sea Shepherd needs several other organizations to REALLY take over the advocacy efforts, because you can’t lobby effectively if you are also engaged in activities that are tolerated on the one hand but decidedly illegal on the other.
This is a dilemma…the heart of the dilemma. Similarly, Greenpeace has not been very effective in the halls of Congress, but Sierra Club has taken up that job and they have created a symbiotic team (not always in agreement) that gets many good jobs done. Radicals cannot lobby effectively, and lobbyists can’t effectively create the kinds of real world pressures radicals can. Sea Shepherd needs help from one or several “Sierra Clubs” AND we need to hear about those efforts just as much as we hear about the adventures at sea.
Meanwhile, make no mistake, laying prop-fouling lines and interfering with fueling on the high seas could easily lead to one or more of their ships being sunken. They are engaged in a form of piracy that would, under any other circumstances, lead to brutally tough sanctions and jail time.
I sense the Japanese are unwilling to launch the kinds of defensive efforts that would be justified under other circumstances, because the whole world is watching. But they are very close to all out combat. The Japanese crews use grappling hooks and harpoons to attack Sea Shepherd volunteers–especially when they are on the “Zodiacs” near the Japanese fleet. There are many times volunteers end up overboard in Antarctic waters.
Sea Shepherd’s fleet is inferior to that of the Japanese whaling fleet. They are slower, smaller and less maneuverable. The harpoon ships can prevent Sea Shepherd vessels from approaching the “mother ship” simply by outflanking the Bob Barker and other vessels. With so much at stake, however, I expect the Japanese will escalate the violence if Sea Shepherd is able to do more than harass the Japanese fleet.
Clearly the reported government warnings are serious. Both entities are engaged in highly illegal behaviors. The Japanese have the advantage, however, of government relations. Governments can take on the Japanese government or they can turn their backs if there is a deadly incident at sea. The Japanese walk the fine line only because Sea Shepherd is both unwilling and unable to “ram” other vessels or launch crippling attacks on the Japanese fleet. The Japanese are outwitting and out-spending Sea Shepherd to avoid a deadly incident that might bring sanctions against them…and genuine enforcement by military ships of other nations.
Sea Shepherd has the world’s attention focused on this struggle, but they need one or more powerful allies to take up the cause where it really counts…in halls of governments that can force the Japanese to stop.
Michael John Scott
February 26, 2013 at 7:19 pm
James do you mind if I turn this into a post? Nice follow and link to this article.