Sea Shepherd Loses Japanese Whaler With Two Hostages

Twenty-four hours ago, Sea Shepherd crew members Giles Lane of the UK and Benjamin Potts of Australia boarded the Japanese Yushin Maru No. 2 on Watson's orders to deliver a letter to its captain demanding a halt to Japanese whaling in the Southern Ocean.

An Australian federal court had just ruled that Japanese whaling in the Australian Whale Sanctuary is illegal and ordered the Japanese to stop killing whales within 200 nautical miles of Australia's Antarctic territory. Japan plans to kill up to 935 minke whales and up to 50 endangered fin whales this season under a self-imposed "research" whaling quota.

When Potts and Lane boarded the Japanese vessel they were immediately taken into custody.

Watson says, "Media reports that the hostages have been released to the Sea Shepherd ship Steve Irwin are false. Reports that the Steve Irwin will not accept calls from the Japanese vessels or authorities are false. No calls have been received. The Yushin Maru No. 2 has refused to return radio calls from the Steve Irwin."

From left: Benjamin Potts and Giles Lane in an office aboard the Japanese whaler Yushin Maru No. 2. January 15, 2008. (Photo courtesy Institute of Cetacean Research)

A Japanese government spokesman says the whaling ship has been trying to contact the Steve Irwin but it has not responded. He says they want to arrange the handover of the two men as requested by the Australian government.

Watson says no one from the Japanese or Australian government has contacted Sea Shepherd to organize the transfer of the hostages from the Japanese whaler back to the Steve Irwin.

The Institute for Cetacean Research, which manages Japanese whaling operations, did send a letter via email with demands to be met prior to a release.

The whalers said they would return the hostages in return for Sea Shepherd agreeing to no longer interfere with their whaling operations.

Watson said the Sea Shepherd "is not interested in any demands based on the holding of hostages."

"Using hostages to make demands is the hallmark of terrorism and Sea Shepherd has no interest in negotiating with terrorist groups," said Watson. "The hostages must be released unconditionally."

"The Institute of Cetacean Research is acting like a terrorist organization," said Steve Irwin's First Officer Peter Brown. "Here they are taking hostages and making demands. Our policy is that we don't respond to terrorist demands."

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has heard reports from the media that Japan has agreed to release the hostages but the Steve Irwin has not heard anything official from either the Australian or Japanese governments.

Crew of the Japanese whaler Yushin Maru No. 2 spray water at approaching Sea Shepherd inflatable with Potts and Lane aboard. (Photo courtesy ICR)

"The activities of the Japanese whaling fleet are illegal under international conservation law. The Japanese are poachers and should be treated in the same manner as elephant or tiger poachers," said Watson.

The Institute of Cetacean Research says the two Sea Shepherd activists "illegally" boarded the Yushin Maru No. 2 "after they made attempts to entangle the screw of the vessel using ropes and throwing bottles of acid onto the decks."

In photos released by the Institute, Japanese crew members on the Yushin Maru No. 2 can be seen spraying water from high pressure hoses at an inflatable vessel carrying the Sea Shepherd activists.

Minoru Morimoto, director general of the Institute, said the men have not been harmed and were taken to a secure room. "The two men are being held in an office," he said.

Watson said Tuesday that the two hostages had been tied to the whaler's radar mast.

"Any accusations that we have tied them up or assaulted them are completely untrue," Morimoto said. "It is illegal to board another country's vessels on the high seas. As a result, at this stage, they are being held in custody while decisions are made on their future."

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2008. All rights reserved.