Eco terrorists get nailed.

[sledgemeister]

http://www.themercury.com.au/article/2010/01/07/120075_todays-news.html

Anti-whale ship Ady Gil rammedDAVID KILLICK

January 07, 2010 07:31am

JAPANESE sailors were accused of deliberately ramming the hi-tech anti-whaling trimaran Ady Gil yesterday.

Its bow was sheared off as the battle in the Southern Ocean escalated dramatically.


 Video: See the collision (Sea Shepherd footage) http://player.video.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/#1378194304

 Video: See the collision (Whalers' footage) http://player.video.news.com.au/heraldsun/#1378248280

 Gallery: Dramatic pictures of collision http://tools.themercury.com.au/photo-gallery/photo_gallery_popup.php?splash=1&category_id=6005


While the six crew on board the Sea Shepherd vessel were rescued one of them with broken ribs captain of the vessel Pete Bethune tried valiantly to save the $1.5 million carbon-fibre stealth boat.

With an eight-foot hole in the bow, the crew said chances of salvaging it were "grim".

Captain of the Sea Shepherd ship Steve Irwin, Paul Watson, says he could not believe how aggressive the Japanese had become in an effort to persist with their whale cull.

"They are becoming increasingly desperate," he said.

"This is a war. It's a war to save the whales and it just got a lot uglier."

The incident occurred around 3.30pm in icy Antarctic waters 1300 nautical miles south of Tasmania.

According to Sydney-born Jason Stewart, who was on board the 24-metre Ady Gil, the protest vessel and the factory ship, the Nisshin Maru, were "having a bit of a skirmish" when the Ady Gil became low on fuel and was forced to stop its pursuit.

"We were basically disengaged and we were waving goodbye to the other Sea Shepherd vessel, the Bob Barker, which was going to continue the pursuit of the Nisshin Maru," he said.

"I was inside the boat at this point, and suddenly I could hear one of the Japanese boats coming at us.

"I took a look through a window and I could see the bow of the Shonan Maru No. 2 coming straight at us, and then it just hit us, and there was a big crunch, a hell of a bang.

"The next thing I remember was seeing daylight through a big hole in the front of the boat."

The 41-year-old former policeman, who now lives in New Zealand, made a mayday call, but the Japanese reportedly made no effort to help.

Mr Stewart said he was shaken but not injured.

"We were just sitting ducks and they just took us out," he said.

"I was only four metres from where the hull took the nose off our boat. It can't have been anything but a deliberate attack."

Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research, which supports the whaling program, hit back, saying the Nisshin Maru was subject to attack for two hours by the Ady Gil.

The institute accused the Ady Gil of towing a rope from its stern "with the intent to entangle the Japanese vessel's rudder and propeller".

The institute also said conservationists aimed a green laser at the Nisshin Maru crew, and fired butyric acid-containing ball-like projectiles.

After broadcasting a "warning message" through a long-range acoustic device, the Nisshin Maru started its water cannons to prevent the Ady Gil coming closer.

"The Sea Shepherd extremism is becoming more violent," the Japanese said.

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society spokesman Jeff Hansen said the Ady Gil's crew of six had been taken aboard the MV Bob Barker, a previously secret protest vessel which only arrived in the area yesterday morning.

"We have it all on film and we're getting onto all the authorities at the moment."

Capt Watson said: "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.

"This is a substantial loss for our organisation.

"The Ady Gil, the former Earthrace, represents a loss of almost $2 million.

"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 organisation called on the Australian Government to send a naval vessel to the whaling grounds.

The Ady Gil left Hobart on December 19 to tackle the Japanese whaling fleet.

Before leaving, Capt Bethune said he was planning to take the fight right to the harpoon vessels.

"We will be on the fleet the whole time. Once we engage them, every day we'll be looking to mess them over," he said.

"My first job is to get my boat down there and get my crew down there and back safely and look at the risk."

Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett called for calm.

"It's critical for safety at sea to be the highest priority and for the absolute and utmost restraint to be exercised by all parties in this very remote and inhospitable region," he said.

Mr Garrett said the Government had no plans to send a vessel to police the situation.

Australian Greens leader Bob Brown says the Government should send a ship and planes to stop the whalers.

"The lawless Japanese whale killers are doing what they want in Australia's Antarctic territory waters. The Rudd Government threw in the towel at the outset," he said.

Opposition environment spokesman Greg Hunt also called on the Government to send a vessel to get evidence of the whale slaughter, as well as rescue people if needed.

"The Ady Gill has been cut, hit by one of the harpoon vessels," he said.
ADY GIL FACTS
Length: 24m metres
Crew: 6
Top speed: 40 knots
Displacement: 16 tonnes.
Cost: $US1 million
Formerly the Earthrace, the Ady Gil was renamed after a US donor who bought the round-world record holder for the Sea Shepherd conservation Society.

SHONAN MARU FACTS
Length: 52m
Crew: 25
Top speed: 12 knots
Displacement: 491 tonnes

 

[Rob Pincus]

Those guys are out of control! I avoided get hooked into any of the "reality" shows until those guys started up....

[ratcatcher55]

Batman is going to pissed when he sees what they did to his boat.

Im waiting for the whalers to start using OC and sting ball grenades.

[sledgemeister]

Batman is going to pissed when he sees what they did to his boat.

Im waiting for the whalers to start using OC and sting ball grenades.

I dunno what took them this long to sink it, they have been pelting the whalers with butric acid bombs, using high intensity green lasers to shine in their eyes, etc etc.
Watson and his mob have been responsible for sinking a few whaling vessels in the past. Turn about is fair play.

[TAB]

you know its funny.  if they were doing what they are doing in US waters, they would be locked up, the key melted down and  pored into the lock set.   from the video I watched today... guess what?  the japanese were in the wrong under int'l navagation rules.   its why they were doing what they were doing.

now reality, its like driving.  "who ever has the most lug nuts wins"  replace lug nuts with displacment and it works for water way navagtion.

I

[Sponsor]

[Texas_Bryan]

Why don't these hippies get a damn job and leave working folks alone?  What stops the Japanese from shooting these people?  Those hippies were cranking there props to run into the whalers.  Just deep six these ass holes.

[TAB]

if they shoot them, it will be a act of war for where ever the boat is registered under.(its clearly not a US registered ship)

the japanse are using a loop hole in the IWC(which they joined) to harvest whales for profit.  If they want to kill whales, they should bow out of the IWC.

[billt]

"While the six crew on board the Sea Shepherd vessel were rescued one of them with broken ribs captain of the vessel Pete Bethune tried valiantly to save the $1.5 million carbon-fibre stealth boat."

They say Carbon fiber is as strong or stronger than steel. It doesn't appear so in this case, does it?     What will we do with these children?        Bill T.

[TAB]

it would have done the same thing if it was steel.

a 100 ton vessle( which is very small by ocean going standards)  travling at 5 mph has close to 1.5 mill ft/lbs of energy.  a super tanker or a large container ship that is in the 500k ton range going 5 mph has 7.335  trillion( yes with a T)  ftlb of energy,   even the slightest bump can/has/will  destroy steel that is several feet thick.


hornaday match ammo  in 50 bmg with a 750 gr @ 2815 fps only has 13194 ft lbs.

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=813470


think about what 13194 ftlbs can do, now  think about what 100x that can do.

[billt]

LOSER

ADY GIL FACTS
Length: 24m metres
Crew: 6
Top speed: 40 knots
Displacement: 16 tonnes.
Cost: $US1 million
Formerly the Earthrace, the Ady Gil was renamed after a US donor who bought the round-world record holder for the Sea Shepherd conservation Society.

WINNER !!

SHONAN MARU FACTS
Length: 52m
Crew: 25
Top speed: 12 knots
Displacement: 491 tonnes

As Roy Scheider said in "Jaws", "We're gonna' need a bigger boat!"      Bill T.