Whale Wars boat cut in half

[searaycer]

I dont know how to post the link, but the new boat in the whale wars fleet had ten feet of the bow removed by a Japanese whaling vessel.

[txriverrat2001]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,582115,00.html

[t500hps]

A pursuit vessel was chased down and "cut in 1/2" by a lumbering ship......yeah, I believe that one.

[Ted]

Fvcking morons. How'd that game of chicken go for ya? OTOH the Japanese "researchers" are also fvcking morons for still finding the need to kill whales. I mean seriously, what could you possibly get from a whale that you couldn't source somewhere else?

[Audiofn]

Amazed it took this long..... One of these days one of those guys is going to get killed and when they do I hope they look at themselves as the reason.

[mosi]

Sea Shepherd unveiled the Ady Gil last October saying a California millionaire with the same name had donated most of the money for it. At the time, the group said the boat would be used to intercept and physically block Japanese harpoon vessels.





NOT SMART

[Bobcat]

[Bobcat]

Boats collide in anti-whaling clash in Antarctic Play Video AP – Boats collide in anti-whaling clash in Antarctic

* Whaling Controversy Slideshow:Whaling Controversy
* Space-age powerboat destroyed in Japan whaling clash Play Video Video:Space-age powerboat destroyed in Japan whaling clash AFP

In this photo made from a video released by the Institute of Cetacean Research AP – In this photo made from a video released by the Institute of Cetacean Research of Japan, activists of …
By ROHAN SULLIVAN, Associated Press Writer Rohan Sullivan, Associated Press Writer – 31 mins ago

SYDNEY – A conservation group's boat had its bow sheared off and was taking on water Wednesday after it was struck by a Japanese whaling ship in the frigid waters of Antarctica, the group said.

The boat's six crew members were safely transferred to another of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's vessels, the newly commissioned Bob Barker. The boat is named for the American game show host who donated $5 million to buy it.

The clash was the most serious in the past several years, during which the Sea Shepherd has sent vessels into far-southern waters to try to harass the Japanese fleet into ceasing its annual whale hunt.

Clashes using hand-thrown stink bombs, ropes meant to tangle propellers and high-tech sound equipment have been common in recent years, and crashes between ships have sometimes occurred.

The society said its vessel Ady Gil — a high-tech speedboat that resembles a stealth bomber — was hit by the Japanese ship the Shonan Maru near Commonwealth Bay and had about 10 feet (three meters) of its bow knocked off.

Locky Maclean, the first mate of the society's lead ship, said one crewman from New Zealand appeared to have suffered two cracked ribs, but the others were uninjured. The crew members were safely transferred to the group's third vessel, though the Ady Gil's captain remained on board to see what could be salvaged, he said.

"The original prognostic was that it was sinking, but at this point it is flooded with water but it seems to still have a bit of buoyancy," Maclean told The Associated Press by satellite phone from the ship, the Steve Irwin.

The group accused the Japanese ship of deliberately ramming the Ady Gil.

"They were stopped dead in the water when the incident occurred," Maclean said of the Ady Gil. "When they realized that the Shonan Maru was aiming right for them, they tried to go into reverse to get the bow out of the way but it was too late. The Shonan Maru made a course correction and plowed directly into the front end of the boat."

Glenn Inwood, a New Zealand-based spokesman for the Institute of Cetacean Research, the Japanese government-linked body that carries out the hunt, disputed Sea Shepherd's account, saying video shot from the whaler showed the conservationists' boat moving toward the whaler just before the collision.

"The Shonan Maru steams to port to avoid a collision. I guess they, the Ady Gil, miscalculated," Inwood told The Associated Press. "Sea Shepherd claims that the Shonan Maru has rammed the Ady Gil and cut it in half — its claim is just not vindicated by the video."

Japan's Fisheries Agency said it was still checking details about the clash. Spokesman Toshinori Uoya said there were no injuries on the Japanese side.

Sea Shepherd sends boats to Antarctic waters each southern summer to try to stop the Japanese whaling fleet from killing whales under what it calls a scientific whaling program. Conservationists and many countries say the program is a front for commercial whaling.

Each side routinely accuses the other of dangerous activity during what has become a cat-and-mouse chase in one of the world's most remote regions.

Australia and New Zealand — which both have Antarctic territories and are among the closest nations to the waters where the hunt goes on — have urged both sides to show restraint, warning that they are far away from rescue if anything goes wrong.

"Our strongest condemnation applies to any violent or dangerous activity that takes place in these remote and inhospitable waters," Australian Environment Minister Peter Garrett said Wednesday. He said he could confirm the collision, but that details were still unclear.

Wednesday's confrontation with whalers marked the first for the 1,200-ton Bob Barker, which rescued the crew. Sea Shepherd only recently bought the ship after its namesake, the former host of the "The Price Is Right" game show and a longtime animal rights acitvist, donated the money. Barker met Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson through a fellow activist and said he was instantly impressed.

"He said he thought he could put the Japanese whaling fleet out of business if he had $5 million," Barker recalled. "I said, 'I think you do have the skills to do that, and I have $5 million, so let's get it on,' so that's what we did."

Barker, 86, said he was "genuinely proud" to be associated with Sea Shepherd.

The Ady Gil, meanwhile, clashed earlier Wednesday with another Japanese ship, the whaling fleet's mothership, the Nisshin Maru.

The Institute of Cetacean Research said the Ady Gil came "within collision distance" of the Nisshin Maru's bow and repeatedly dangled a rope in the water that could have entangled the ship's rudder and propeller.

The Ady Gil's crew lobbed small projectiles designed to release a foul smell, and the whalers responded by firing high-powered hoses to keep the Sea Shepherd vessels away, the institute said in a statement.

"The obstructionist activities of the Sea Shepherd threaten the lives and property of those involved in our research, are very dangerous and cannot be forgiven," it said.

Maclean confirmed the earlier clash.

Japan's whaling fleet left in November for its annual hunt in Antarctic waters. Uoya said that for security reasons, details of the fleet's composition, the number of whales it hopes to take and the number of crew members are not being released to the public.

The Ady Gil is a 78-foot (24-meter) black-painted trimaran made of carbon fiber and Kevlar in a design meant to pierce waves. It was built to challenge the record for the quickest circumnavigation of the globe and can travel faster than 46 mph (75 kph).

Sea Shepherd unveiled the Ady Gil last October saying a California millionaire with the same name had donated most of the money for it. At the time, the group said the boat would be used to intercept and physically block Japanese harpoon vessels.

___

[38fountainSC]

Thats the earth race boat, powered by merc diesels run on biodiesel. Article says Bob Barker donated the 5 mill for it.

[Wahoo 214]

I'm all for saving the whales, but those Sea Shepard guys are nothing but Pirates and should be treated as such.

[redhotsommer]

I thought that boat looked familiar. The Bob Barker was the rescue boat, not the earthrace boat. That sucker hasn't had an easy life...remember the Earthrace circumnavigation encountered some difficulities when it hit and sank a fishing boat off South America...

[JupiterSunsation]

Sea Shepherd unveiled the Ady Gil last October saying a California millionaire with the same name had donated most of the money for it. At the time, the group said the boat would be used to intercept and physically block Japanese harpoon vessels.





NOT SMART

Should have donated a bigger boat.......

[Trim'd Up]

I'm glad to see it! I am all for saving the whales but those guys are idiots and deserve what they get. They are pirates in my eyes as well.

[MarylandMark]

Sweet!!!!

http://www.seriousoffshore.com/forum...d.php?p=408717

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dXCR9LX-Kc

Can we save and upload the video before it is removed?

[TCEd]

Fvcking morons. How'd that game of chicken go for ya? OTOH the Japanese "researchers" are also fvcking morons for still finding the need to kill whales. I mean seriously, what could you possibly get from a whale that you couldn't source somewhere else?

Agree. Bad thing is the TV show gives them a huge audience.
ed

[Ted]

Gotta admit, watching the second vid on this PAGE it does look like the Japanese boat turned into them, if a loss of life occurred I could see the captain being brought up on at least manslaughter. Since no one was killed, I suppose it will simply be a huge lawsuit in some Maritime court.

[t500hps]

That's great....youcan see the Ady Gil sitting still, then prop wash as they move INTO the path on the whaling ship....dumbazzes!!!

[LaughingCat]

Fvckin' morons.

What's on the back of that thing, speakers? They gonna do the old "Compton Stereo Annoyance" method?

[glh]

There is a video here of the whole thing.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100106/...rctica_whaling


And another I guess the Japs took it to them!




Those hippies got what they wanted..... Publicity...

[GENERAL LEE]

I haven't watched Whale Wars, but SouthPark did a show about those guys a few weeks back. Good stuff: