A Panamanian-registered tanker has been found and shadowed in the Southern Ocean by Sea Shepherd activists, who plan to block any attempt to refuel the Japanese whaling fleet.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Korean-owned Sun Laurel was located by Sea Shepherd's fast boat Gojira south-east of New Zealand.
Gojira skipper Locky Maclean radioed the Sun Laurel and asked if it was in the area to refuel the Japanese whaling fleet. He said the response was a hesitant “maybe”.
Sea Shepherd's leader, Paul Watson, said today the Sun Laurel could lead the activists to the factory ship Nisshin Maru, which would need to refuel soon.
"We have found the Achilles heel of the whaling fleet," he said. "Our strategy now is to prevent any resupply."
The group said in a statement that its three ships ships were committed to spending the rest of the whaling season in the Southern Ocean, but it would be cut very short if the whaling ships were unable to refuel.
The activists are still being tagged by two of the three Japanese harpoon ships, and are growing confident that few, if any whales, have been taken this season by the single harpoon ship with a fleeing Nisshin Maru.
The 5740-tonne Sun Laurel is believed to have left the port of Tateyama Ko in Japan on December 4.
Meanwhile, a Canberra international law specialist warns that Sea Shepherd's decision to register Gojira in Australia could prove a headache for the International Court of Justice case against Japan.
"Australia would be anxious to avoid being subject to a counterclaim by Japan before the International Court asserting that it was failing to meet its international legal obligations under the 1988 Maritime Navigation Convention," ANU professor Don Rothwell said in the National Times today.
"If Sea Shepherd continue with their protest actions in the Southern Ocean and endanger the Japanese whaling vessels and the lives of their crew, then certainly a strong argument can be made that Australia should act at a minimum to control the actions of the Gojira."
Professor Rothwell also said the flagging of Gojira to Australia opened the the door for the Australian Federal Police to investigate potential criminal acts in Southern Ocean protests.
