The Japanese whaling vessel Nisshin Maru today rammed the Greenpeace ship MV Arctic Sunrise while making an illegal overtaking manoeuvre in the remote Southern Ocean around Antarctica.
The incident follows Greenpeace's successful bid on Monday to block the illegal whale hunt, in which a Greenpeace activist twice jumped into the icy waters of the Antarctic to disrupt the activities of the whalers. The activist also climbed on to the back of the dead whale as it was being dragged up the ramp of the factory vessel. As catcher ships can only carry two harpooned whales at a time, this delayed the hunt.
Greenpeace whaling campaigner Richard Page said:
"The Japanese whaling fleet has further placed itself outside the law. Not only is Japan defying the UN Law of the Sea by hunting whales in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, but now their whalers have flouted maritime law and in the process endangered lives."
"With this most recent display of lawlessness the Japanese whaling fleet continues to show its determination to hunt whales - no matter what laws they trample in the process." Page said.
Greenpeace has called on national governments to demand that the Japanese Government cancel its illegal Antarctic-whaling program. To date only the British, US, Australian and New Zealand governments have made soft diplomatic moves to pressure Japan in to abandoning its whaling program.
Following today's incident Greenpeace has written a letter of protest to the Institute for Cetacean Research (ICR), the Japanese Government agency responsible for whaling in the Southern Ocean. Greenpeace is continuing to track the Nisshin Maru and remains committed to stopping Japan's illegal whaling activities.
This year Japan intends to hunt 440 Minke whales in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary (50 more than last year), as part of its so-called 'scientific research' program. However the whale meat produced by the 'research' is sold on the open market in Japan. By continuing to whale in defiance of continued International Whaling Commission (IWC) requests to stop hunting, Japan is in breach of the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). 144 nations of the world (including Japan) agreed in 1982 to respect UNCLOS.
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Greenpeace press office on 020 7865 8255
