Just weeks after the sinking of the Ady Gil, violence flares once again in the Southern Ocean
Just weeks after a collision in the Southern Ocean that sent round-the-world trimaran Ady Gil to the ocean floor, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has had another brutal run-in with Japanese whalers.
This time the collision involved Sea Shepherd ship Bob Barker and Japanese harpoon ship Yushin Maru 3, and happened 180 miles off Cape Darnlet in Australian Antarctic Territory.
No one was hurt in the collision, but a 3ft-long, 4in-deep gash was left in the side of Bob Barker above the waterline, according to Sea Shepherd.
“The Bob Barker had been actively blocking the slipway of the Nisshin Maru, the Japanese whaling fleet’s factory ship, when the collision occurred,” Sea Shepherd said.
“Four harpoon ships, the Yushin Maru 1, 2, and 3 and Shonan Maru 2, were circling and making near passes to the stern and bow of the Sea Shepherd vessel. The Bob Barker did not move from its position. At which point, the Yushin Maru 3 intentionally rammed the Bob Barker.”
The collision marks a further escalation in the ongoing battle to prevent whaling in the Southern Ocean, which Sea Shepherd considers to be illegal.
Photo credit: Glenn Lockitch/Sea Shepherd
