Sea Shepherd News
Sea Shepherd Chases the Japanese Whalers into Yesterday
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Yushin Maru 2The Japanese whaling fleet are not where they should be this time of year.
Last year the fleet was operating in the Ross Sea. This year their “scientific survey” was supposed to take place in the waters south and west of Tasmania, east and south of South Africa.
Every year they alternate. But not this year! Although the whalers attempted to begin their killing operations in the waters southwest of Australia, the Sea Shepherd ships have chased the entire whaling fleet ever eastward. At 1700 hours AEST, the Bob Barker encountered the Yushin Maru No. 3 at 66 Degrees, 22 minutes South and 179 Degrees, 05 minutes West.
From being intercepted 500 miles west of Fremantle, Australia, the Japanese fleet has run over 4,500 nautical miles for the last 30 days, all the way into the Ross Sea, far to the East of Australia. This is an average of 150 miles a day, leaving very little time to kill whales with only one harpoon vessel. The other two harpoon vessels have either been tailing or searching for the Sea Shepherd ships.
Three Sea Shepherd Crew Injured in Skirmish with Japanese Harpoon Vessel
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The Japanese whalers have escalated their aggression by throwing iron grappling hooks at Sea Shepherd boats.
Two Steve Irwin crew were struck in the shoulder with iron grappling hooks and one crewmember was struck twice in the face with a long bamboo pole.
The Yushin Maru No. 2 continues to tail the Steve Irwin. The incident occurred at 0300 hours AEST at 64 degrees 17 minutes South and 155 degrees 41 minutes East. This is about 300 miles north of Mawson Peninsula off the George V Land coast of Antarctica.
Sea Shepherd Dancing Dangerously With the Outlaw Whaling Fleet in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary
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The nautical chess pieces continue to move and the board keeps changing in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.
The Shonan Maru #2 is no longer chasing the Steve Irwin. The security vessel has been replaced by the harpoon vessel Yushin Maru #2.
It is assumed that the Shonan Maru #2 will now head west towards the Australian Customs vessel Ocean Protector to turn over the three Australian prisoners onboard.
Japanese Harpoon Vessel enters the Australian Twelve Mile Limit
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Emboldened by their ability to enter the Australian contiguous zone without penalty, where they subsequently detained and removed three Australian citizens, the Japanese have now taken things one step further by entering the twelve mile limit of the Australian territorial waters surrounding MacQuarie Island.
The Yushin Maru #3 is presently (at 1400 Hours AEST) 5 nautical miles off the beach at MacQuarie Island. The Sea Shepherd ship Bob Barker was attempting to shake the tail of the Yushin Maru #3 at MacQuarie.
According to a 2008 order of the Australian Federal Court, Japanese whaling vessels are prohibited from entering the territorial waters of Australia.
The Steve Irwin is now 400 miles south of Australia with the Shonan Maru #2 in pursuit at a distance of 10 nautical miles. The three Australian men who boarded the Japanese vessel remain detained on the ship.
MacQuarie Island is also a World Heritage Site and a whale killing vessel has no business in the waters of a World Heritage Site.
The Australian Government Lets Us Down Again
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l to r: Glen Pendlebury, Geoffrey Tuxworth, and Simon PeterffyDuring the Boer War, Harry “Breaker” Morant and Peter Handcock were made scapegoats for the British Empire when Australia signed off on their execution to satisfy their colonial masters in Great Britain. They died for carrying out the orders of British Field Marshal Horatio Herbert Kitchener who needed a couple of colonial soldiers to sacrifice to appease the German Kaiser.
In the interest of not upsetting the British, Australia betrayed two of her own citizens to their death. That was 1902.
Yesterday, Australians Geoffrey Tuxworth, Simon Peterffy and Glen Pendlebury were made expendable political scapegoats to appease the Japanese. Australia’s attorney general Nicola Roxon has been quick to condemn these three brave men by saying they were detained by the Japanese in international waters and Australia would be powerless to stop them being taken back to Japan.
