Friday, January 08, 2010

The Battle to Defend Whales Intensifies

Update:  The Ady Gil has sunk while being towed by the Sea Shepherd ship Bob Barker.  Tow lines snapped from the weight of accumulated sea water in the heavily damaged Ady Gil.  The Shonan Maru #2 rammed the composite fiber vessel taking off eight feet of the bow.  The Ady Gil, a former ocean racer, was  seen as an escalation of the conflict since the eco-warriors intended to use its high speed capabilities to interfere with fast Japanese harpoon vessels.  But the Bob Barker, named after a US television game show host and animal welfare activist, is even more of a surprise in the Southern Ocean.  The refitted and ice reinforced Norwegian whaler was purchased quietly, and managed to depart from Mauritius to join the Sea Shepherd fleet unnoticed by the Japanese until now.  The Ady Gil is said to have been worth $2 million.  A video taken from the Bob Barker shows the Shonan Maru #2 altering course to ram the smaller ship.  Salvage is unlikely.

The Sea Shepherd's sleek trimaran, Ady Gil, {10.19.09}was involved in a collision with a Japanese whaling ship as the confrontation between whalers and eco-warriors in the Southern Ocean continues to heat up. None of the crew was seriously injured, but the Ady Gil suffered heavy damage to its hull as shown in this AP video: