Sea Shepherd and Japanese whalers trade ambush claims

Militant environmentalist group Sea Shepherd and Japanese whalers on Monday traded accusations of a potentially dangerous attack in the perilous Southern Ocean.

Sea Shepherd said two Japanese harpoon ships attacked their Bob Barker vessel on Sunday night, using steel cables in an attempt to jam its propellers and rudders from close range in violation of laws aimed at preventing collisions at sea.

But officials in Tokyo in charge of the hunt said it was their ships that had been ambushed.

Bob Barker captain Peter Hammarstedt said he had been tailing the Japanese factory ship Nisshin Maru since Sunday morning but the harpooners waited until night fell – “launching their onslaught under the cover of darkness”.

High-seas confrontations are common between Sea Shepherd and the Japanese, who hunt whales off Antarctica under a “scientific research” loophole in the moratorium on whaling. Sunday’s incident marks the second such showdown in a month.

“We maintain unwavering dedication in the face of an increasingly vicious onslaught from the poachers, the last line of defence standing between these criminals and the protected whales they are targeting to kill,” Hammarstedt said.