(11-01-10) In an unprovoked attack captured on film, the japanese security ship “Shonan Maru No. 2” deliberately rammed and caused catastrophic damage to the Sea Shepherd trimaran “Ady Gil”. Famed trimaran is sinking in the Southern Ocean and its six crewmembers rescued by the Sea Shepherd ship “Bob Barker”.

    Six crew crewmembers, four from New Zealand, one from Australia, and one from the Netherlands were immediately rescued by the crew of the Sea Shepherd ship Bob Barker. None of the crew Ady Gil crew were injured. The Ady Gil is believed to be sinking and chances of salvage are very grim.

    According to eyewitness Captain Chuck Swift on the Bob Barker, the attack happened while the vessels were dead in the water. The Shonan Maru No. 2 suddenly started up and deliberately rammed the Ady Gil ripping eight feet of the bow of the vessel completely off. According to Captain Swift, the vessel does not look like it will be saved.

    “The Japanese whalers have now escalated this conflict very violently,” said Captain Paul Watson. “If they think that our remaining two ships will retreat from the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary in the face of their extremism, they will be mistaken. We now have a real whale war on our hands now and we have no intention of retreating.”

    Captain Paul Watson onboard the Steve Irwin is racing towards the area at 16 knots but still remains some five hundred miles to the north. The Bob Barker has temporarily stopped the pursuit of the Nisshin Maru to rescue the crew of the Ady Gil. The Japanese ships initially refused to acknowledge the “may day” distress of the Ady Gil, but ultimately did acknowledge the call. Despite acknowledging the call, they did not offer to assist the Ady Gil or the Bob Barker in any way.

    The incident took place at 64 Degrees and 03 Minutes South and 143 Degrees and 09 Minutes East Until this morning the Japanese were completely unaware of the existence of the Bob Barker. This newest addition to the Sea Shepherd fleet left Mauritius off the coast of Africa on December 18th and was able to advance along the ice edge from the West as the Japanese were busy worrying about the advance of the Steve Irwin from the North.

    “This is a substantial loss for our organization,” said Captain Watson. “The Ady Gil, the former Earthrace, represents a loss of almost two million dollars. However the loss of a single whale is of more importance to us and we will not lose the Ady Gil in vain. This blow simply strengthens our resolve, it does not weaken our spirit.”

    The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is requesting that the Australian government send a naval vessel to restore the peace in the waters of the Australian Antarctic Territory. We have 77 crew from 16 nations on three vessels, six of them were on the Ady Gil. Of these, 21 are Australian citizens: 16 Australians on the Steve Irwin and five on the Bob Barker. Sea Shepherd believes that the Australian government has a responsibility to protect the lives of Australian citizens working to defend whales from illegal Japanese whaling activities.

    “Australia needs to send a naval vessel down here as soon as possible to protect both the whales and the Australian citizens working to defend these whales,” said Steve Irwin Chief Cook Laura Dakin of Canberra. “This is Australian Antarctic Territorial waters and I see the Japanese whalers doing whatever they want with impunity down here without a single Australian government vessel anywhere to be found. Peter Garrett, I have one question for you: Where the bloody hell are you?”

The Busy Little Japanese Kiwi Office of Absurd Propaganda

     After suffering the total loss of the ship Ady Gil, Glen Inwood, the public relations mouthpiece for the Japanese whaling industry, issued a very bizarre media release.

    Inwood accuses Sea Shepherd of lying about the Ady Gil sinking. He accuses Sea Shepherd of polluting the Antarctic marine environment with a fuel spill. And he accuses Sea Shepherd of having bows and arrows on board the Ady Gil insinuating the intent of the Ady Gil’s crew was to kill the whalers.

    “This is one of the most absurd media releases I have seen this clown issue in years,” said Captain Paul Watson. “Inwood has pictures of a bow with arrows floating near the submerged hulk of the Ady Gil. I suppose the only reason for this is that guns don’t float and he needed a ‘smoking gun’ but had to settle for a ‘floating arrow’.”

    The Sea Shepherd crew on the Bob Barker did not lie about the sinking of the Ady Gil. In fact they notified the Australian maritime authorities that the Ady Gil had to be abandoned because it was partially submerged, its engine room and all compartments flooded, and was slowly sinking. The Ady Gil is a total loss and has officially been declared sunk. The Australian maritime authorities issued a notice to mariners warning of a sinking hulk in the positions indicated.

    The day before, the Australian maritime authorities had advised Sea Shepherd that the only obligation the crew had was to rescue all crew members and personal items from the damaged vessel. They advised against re-entering the vessel. Despite this the crew risked their lives to re-enter and to pump all oils and fuel from the Ady Gil in an effort to protect the marine environment from pollution in the likely event of a sinking. Every drop of fuel and oil was removed.

    When the Bob Barker left the Ady Gil there was not a drop of fuel escaping. Sea Shepherd suspects that the pictures of a spill taken by the Shonan Maru No. 2 while trailing the Bob Barker were set up. “It only takes a bucket of diesel thrown over the side of the whaling ship to provide the ‘evidence’ the Japanese are providing, “ said Captain Watson.

Japasene destroyed the Ady Gil and now accusing of polluting

    It is also totally absurd that the Japanese, who deliberately rammed and destroyed the Ady Gil and refused to offer aid and in response to its distress signal, are now accusing Sea Shepherd of polluting the sea because they (the Japanese) cut the Ady Gil in half.

    “In light of the damning documentary evidence of the Shonan Maru No. 2 ramming and destroying the Ady Gil, it is utterly ridiculous to now see the Japanese claiming that the Ady Gil has not really been sunk, that Sea Shepherd caused an oil spill and that weapons meant to kill whalers just happened to be floating around the submerged hulk of the Ady Gil,” said Captain Watson. “Does Glen Inwood really believe that the people of New Zealand and Australia are so stupid as to swallow this codswallop?”

    What is really absurd about these ridiculous claims is that on January 5th, the Japanese tanker Hiyo Maru refueled the whaling mother ship Nisshin Maru south of sixty degrees latitude in violation of the Antarctic Treaty that prohibits refueling in the Antarctic Treaty Zone. The refueling took place off Cape Denison in Commonwealth Bay only 15 miles from a large Adelie penguin colony.

    It is absurd that the Japanese, who put tens of thousands of penguins in danger and who deliberately rammed and split a conservation ship in half, are now making this ridiculous claim that Sea Shepherd’s actions are a threat to the environment.

Text: MWN