we dont know all the facts. I find it hard to believe that their high speed interceptor boat was "standing still" and I have also heard that the Japanese whaling boat changed tack and hit the boat as they ran side by side - both versions from the Sea Shepard organisation!! Who knows what the Japanese version of events will be?!?

National Geographic are out there filming for their whale wars show, that footage will reveal what actaully happened. I'll wait to see that before screaming blue murder - the Sea Shepard organisation run a fine line sometimes with their tactics. Not that I agree with the japanese whaling, but often the Sea Shepard tactics put both themselves and whalers in dangerous situations.

So i guess you believe that Japanese are on a scientific pilgrimage too..

but wayno, explain to me how the shonan maru 2 (a 70 odd metre long steel fishing boat) launched from a stand-still to hit the sea shepards new "high speed interceptor" capable of hitting 40 knots?

Something doesn't add up?

Is not whaling for food illegal under internatonal law ?

 Whatever side of the argument folks have the japs need to be arrested and boat confinscated (for dive/fish wrecks hopefully)

Garret will do what he is good at...
make lots of hot air and do stuff all!!!....

I remember all the promises about stopping the whaling if he got in....well he is in and what has he done...???

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dXCR9LX-Kc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bbuq0YEIPNU

lets all stop buying jap fishing gear in support of condoning whaling.....

didnt think so!!

and as for Peter

He answers to the PM and it's the PM who has the power to stop this. Peter is doing the best he can in an injust system which only works for one thing......$$ if the feds are anything like the wa gov then the environment portfolio is on the bottom of the list.........

go read Ed Abbeys Monkey Wrench Gang!

fiction based on real people.

Research kills a multitude of animals, no I dont condone whaling but as huggy says the media spin to sell papers.

I'm not familiar with international law but if the japanese are blatently breaking them them why is the government not doing anything. we sell them mobs of our resources so why not tax them extra and send the money south in the form of fisheries patrols.......

there is a myriad of options to regulate whaling.........

Mate the skipper of that awesome little rig, was getting hammered by water he wouldnt of seen squat he probably panicked in the situation.

Even tho the second vid looks like they aimed for them!

Mate if you owned that boat, would you try and get it sunk

IMO... The Sea Shepard and the mob supporting them down there are nothing but a bunch of attention seeking pirates and IMO also, if they had the chance they would skuttle the whaling ships down there. Having said that of course I completely oppose the activities undertaken by these Japanes "researchers".

We can all sit here and make stupid comments like "garrett will do stuff all". That will not take anything away from the fact that this is an international problem and we are only a small part of the potential solution. The situation down there is out of control as a result of the idiotic actions of these radical attention seekers. They should count their lucky stars none of their idiotic followers were hurt or killed in this latest incident.

OK. so now shoot me.. LOL

Well the 2nd vid shows he swerved right at them .

What now attempted manslaughter charge, endangering human life ?

As stated before whoses going to arrest them though, i reckon our navys the best option.

the Japanese are whaling in International Waters (not Australian waters contrary to poular belief) in what Australia have designated as a whale sanctuary. Problem with that is its international waters so legally its not a whale sanctuary at all - just by agreement by non-whaling nations and it is not recognized by whaling nations.

By and large, the minke whales are not endangered and that is 95% of the catch. They no longer hunt humpbacks after international pressure and the other species they hunt is fin whales (not sure of their numbers to be honest). Their quotas are set by the International Whaling Committee.

Morally and ethically (IMO) hunting whales is wrong, but to take japan to task over it, legally Australia and the rest of the world have no leg to stand on it. Its a tough one.

But the whaling is one thing. Running down boats deliberately with malice was my main point. We cant do nothing about the whaling.

But deliberately sinking boats is piracy also imo.

That was an offense in any waters!!!

Interesting comment on message board, food for thought,seems the japs might be in breach of different laws, great crash by the way  glad nobody was hurt,,

From message board,,,

bypasses any CITES restrictions.

And I agree Wayno/Shorty, the Japanese may be in trouble for hitting the boat and not going to a mayday call. But I doubt it will stop the whaling.

However I know that in offshore construction vessels we have a 500m exclusion radius, if another vessel enters that radius, under power or otherwise, then they are the ones in the wrong, not coming to the aid of the maydays could almost be gotten away with due to the history of "piracy" by sea sheperd.

Given that your the captain if you believe the people on a mayday calling vessel could be dangerous to you your ship or your crew you are in no way obliged to pick them up.

I dont like the whalers but I dont like the brainwashing crap the greens try to feed us either.

Whaling doesn't really bother me but when i see a ship delibrately ramming another  well thats just not how you play cricket.

That right Nelly, though i do know the sea sheps captain rammed or sunk a boat a few years back (trawler?)

Both sides are a bit naughty,its a great win for the sea sheps and they will milk it for all its worth,,,

a duck. And 11 in 2 innings is not a good player hahaha!!!

I have been watching a few vids of the sherperd gang,, in one its shows the flags of the ships they have sunk,10 in fact, most Noregian flagged ?

Probally over seal clubbing /trawling  ?

Anyway seems the Shepard people are old hands at ramming boats,pointing lasers,throwing chemicals etc this just seems to be another episode in a long running war

The current 2010 score Japs 1 Sheps nil

Damo - "Peter is doing the best he can" ? Seriously mate, while i agree he has to toe the party line, what the hell happened to his integrity and social conscience? Oh, he became a politician. He is not as glib as the Kiwi from the Centre for Cretacean Research in Japan - now there is someone i find so convincing - the twat. Personally, let them have a sustainable take each year - it won't last as they can't sell the catch now as the kids in Tokyo seem to prefer Macca's.

Isn't the Ady Gil boat meant to be a high speed machine!  Sure if they wanted out of there they would have been, bit of publicity to the cause I think.

I do get the linkage your trying to put accross Ray.  I guess the only real difference is the size that either species grew too...

If you believe the capt of the Andy Gill they had exhausted there fuel supply to extremely low. These boats do use a fair whack of juice. Also he stated that they were sitting motionless and other boats had already done a drive by in a almost sense of "we beat you attitude" as they could no longer pursue them as they "were low on fuel". In that case you could almost feel your nose being rubbed in it by the Japs and i can see that the Andy gill would have been helpless other than to sit there and cop a spray from there water cannons..

It also states that on of the first ships that drove by doubled back and picked them up. So i would say that the Andy Gill was not completely innocent but i would also say that one Jap skipper who did actually over step the mark will be in slightly shoes with his bosses. Hell you may even see the Jap's through him up as a scapegoat IMHO.

I've seen all the footage, impressive and to me i think the Jap boat swerved, and i will say it has a impressive speed of turn.   

I agree that the Sea Sheperd org is boarder line piracy but to be honest i think they almost need to be to get publicty for there cuase. Thats what they claim to be doing so no body can claim otherwise. If not for them we would be clue less.

Thanks to them NOW Humpbacks are now safe. If they had not been there showing the world would they still be hunting Humpbacks? I n my opinion we as a nation stop the Indonesians fishing in our waters, for good reason you may add, so why let the Japs get away with it? Trade dollars and our Government especially Garret are weak as piss. I bet if the Yanks came down here telling the japs to stop we'd be all over them like a rash..

Labor party was in oposition?

Peter was dancing around question time, like his bed was burning. Saying that the howard gov wasnt doing enough about the whaling..

Now hes got his trump card to do something, hes saying hes very very angry and the government is not going to do anything about it.

So typical of the dudd government that makes AUS look like a joke.

Just another broken election promise...

without having to back them up, clearly Garrett has now come to the realisation that there is very little that can actually be done from a government stand point.

Easy to talk the talk, much harder to walk the walk.......

This latest set of events has come about as a result of sheer studity and I hardly think Peter Garrett should be held accountable for any loss or damage to "Green" property when the activists behave in such a reckless way. Sure; the issue of Japanese whaling is one that needs to be pushed harder than it is at the moment but let's not get carried away when these idiots screw up.

I wonder what the marine insurance people have to say when the Greenies lodge a claim.........

Its all fixed. The Aussie government have just annonced that the Andy Gill is a NZ registered vessel so its not up to the Aussie government to do anything

Nice Handball!!!!

I would love to jump on one of those batman boats,,some good fishing to be had out there i reckon

Maybe Batmans boat stopped cause he saw a school of Dhuies on the sounder ?,,,,,,,

I've no time for the Japanese whalers but am I alone in thinking that the Ady Gil was accelerating forward just prior to the actual impact?

Did look like they were under forward power a little at least.  The Jap boat also appeared to turn towards them.  Perosnally I think the goverment should be doing more on both the whaling issue and especially the Patagonian toothfish being taken from our waters (which is being conducted illeagally in our waters)  Neither goverment (labour or libs) have done much re this since chasing one to Sth Africa.

Paul

Even if the "Batboat"was under power it still had the right of passage under international marine law.The jap boat would have stop or steer hard to port to avoid crossing its path.As we can see it did neither instead turned to starboard and ran it over then didn't stop again another breach of the marine law.I think the jap skipper has just said goodbye to his master mariner's ticket for a long time.

All this is regardless of what they are both down there for,that will have no bearing on the outcome of the final decision

Paul the gov chucked $30 million towards it after the Viarsa chase to South America, that's where the Oceanic Viking came from. It's all but put a stop to the poaching in the Aust zone.
I'm not on anyones side but the Sea Shepard crew need to be prosecuted for some of their actions down there as well as the Japanese. Both have broken the law as far as navigation, seamanship and SOLAS and it won't be long before someone gets seriously hurt or dies.
And yep when I watched the footage the Ady Gil took no action to even avoid the collision, even though the Japanese boat did turn.
Anyway that's it for me, enough said.

Cheers Tim,

Not sure if you misread my comment, - Meant on one shot (looked like it was shot from the whaling vessel)  that the Andy Gil was under some forward power (far from the top speed that batboat does by any means) but it appeared to move forward into the path of the whaling ship from that view.  Have seen other views that "appeared" more stationary.  If so shame to "allegedley" throw away a boat like that when they could've given it to me (wishful - be nice to leave adelaide after breakie - head out of perth, catch a few Sampsons and be home in time for lunch)......

I have no doubt both parties will release stuff that shows them to be in the right.

War it has always been - propaganda war........

Cheers Paul

Yes the jap boat turns to starboard but before the point of impact it's turning to port.  Jmo but the Ady Gil accelerates to ensure contact.  If they didn't want contact they would have reversed, something they managed to do after contact.

Just my two bobs worth, the reason the government won't do anything about the whaling issue is that there is no money to be made from  by stopping it, that's why they chased that boat half way around the globe when they were taking toothfish. Same sort of reason the yanks have been hesitant to send more troops to Afghanistan no oil no money.  Peter Garrett what a big fat white elephant he turned out to be. As for comparing whales to dhuies what a joke, whales are intelligent mammals like dolphins who are aware and communicate and are an essential part of the ecosystem I'm not saying dhuies aren't but whales are a hell of a lot more important. And as for the Japanese their attitude stinks of their old time imperialism.Shame  shame shame

the aussie government is staying out of the going on's down there, they are just about ready to blast hundreds of thousands of holes through 600,000 gentle creatures in the outback. No clean kills here, if they die as quick as the minkes I would be surprised. Yep drop and rot they call it. Best they keep right out thats right out of the whaling wars.

are you referring to out wide?

Either way its PEOPLE like the sea shepard crew and the greenies etc that HAVE THE BALLS AND TAKE A STEP FURTHER AND GO TO NEW HEIGHTS in order to acheive and protect nature and its inhabitants .They are the people who make the do-gooders open there eyes to what is really happening, and change and save this world. If it wasnt for them sorts of people in this world the world would be in a much much worse state then it already is. 

I am ion the side of Batmans crew and am anti whaling,,it is in the back of my mind though that once whaling stopped the next target will be to stop rec fishing.

Wow,

It's amazing I get a novel in response to my comments. I'm definately no vegan and am definately a fish catcher ,killer and eater. Oh yeah I geuss my other hypocrisy is that I also fabricate materials for the oil industry. I might sound like a ponce But I do care about the ocean......

i'm not sure of your angle on it but you would think there would be a better way to deal with this problem rather than drop and rot.

latest footage from on board the batboat just before the impact clearly shows they where at rest and waiting for refueling,
Also it is clear that the Japs targeted them with LASAR and then aimed straight into them,

no bloody way where they under any power or movement above 1 or 2 knots with a massive ship doing 20knots + barreling down on them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfGM-LzGKjc

clear as day light, that Jap captain needs to be hung high out to dry and stripped of every sea ticket he has.

Tony

As soon as the cam zooms in you cannot tell at all if the vessel is under power, and since there are so many other views that show it under power I would suggest that they zoom in for a reason.

Considering how stable the footage was for the rest of the video interesting how all of a sudden it gets real bouncy when she zooms in isnt it o.o

Personally I hope that the sea shep skipper goes for attempted manslaughter of his whole crew. Maybe then they will think twice before their next media stunt.

Have you ever been in such big rolling seas? I have the waves Swell that these guys where in is much bigger than anything most will ever get to see. Slight change of angle with a swell under the Andy Gill and she roles maybe at 2 knots, you can even see the pulse back and forth of the Andy gill in the shots before she is hit.

Sorry but i think you would have to be fairly one eyed to see it any other way than the Japs ran her over. Where do you think that big wave that hits the starboard side and shoots up over her bridge( Jap ship sorry bad with big names) comes from. She rounded hard up to Starboard to run the Andy gill down. The sea shepherd crew are fanatical but check there attitude for the minutes before. They were congratulating themselves on simply keeping up with the fleet for the time they did. They would not go and drive under the bow of a ship like that in those waters. If that was what they were about they would be strapping bombs to themselves and doing it properly. 

Fairly cut and dry really. Honestly nothing will happen though in my opinion as the Japs really can get away with what ever they like. Whaling the way they do, refuelling in no go zones, deploying the noise thing onto aircraft, driving into sovereign waters with no regard for any diplomacy and now running down ships.  Can't wait to see what they get away with next? 

Does the pirate flag that the Sea Sheperd fly offer the Japs any grounds for protecting themselves from a threat? Sorry if it has been covered but I couldn't it anywhere.

As a member/supporter of sea shepherd.org , I can assure everyone that the Ali Gil was destined to be very active in in the role of preventing whales from being slaughtered in the Antarctic for many years to come so why would its crew jepardise all this & risk their lives by cruising into the path of such a comparatively huge vessel?? Get real!!
As for the vegan aspect well after 1.5 hrs queuing we were guided aboard the Steve Irwin`s fueling & preparation in Fremantle( along with 18 others, 20 in every group) by a scientist on his 9th trip as a Steve Irwin crew member to the southern ocean. He informed us that he & many other crew members were not normally vegans or even vegetarians, & that they had to adjust (with much difficulty & bodily weakness initially)to the new diet over the first few weeks of their voyage South. They were
assured by Paul Watson before every voyage "No one will ever starve on this vessel"
We were also shown the extreme measures taken to ensure the safety of every crew member from the weather,the seas & the wrath of their Japaneze opponents in conflict. Hell, if I was younger I would be proud to raise that skull & crossed
trident (king neptune) & shepherds crook ( obvious) aboard ship heading into the Southern Ocean.

Most of us have children, & some of us have grandchildren so isnt it our responsibility to try to ensure that our offspring will be able to enjoy seeing whales, if not at least knowing that these huge wonderful mammals still exist & thrive in our seas?. There is very little hope for creatures such as the Sumatran orang-utan & elephant.
www.seashepherd.org

I have seen on U Tube Ady Gil repeatedly crossing the bows of the whaling vessels.

Try this senario: Ady Gil goes to cross the bows of the Shonan Maru, but has cut the margin of error a bit fine, and is in danger of colliding.

The skipper of the Shonan sees this and alters course to the starboard to create sea room.

At the same time the nut case in the Ady Gil realises he's cutting it a bit fime and puts on the brakes. But there is a fire hose streaming down on the cocpit and he cannot see what the Shonan is doing.

 The skipper of the Shonan now sees Ady is nearly stopped, and orders hard port, to avoid collision with this change of situation.

At the same time a crew member aboard Ady has yelled at the idiot in charge, that the Shonan is heading straight for it, he pushes the thottles to the hilt.

Collision.

It certainly looks to me as though Ady Gil has driven into the side of Shonan Maru with plenty of power on.

WHAT PART OF TOKYO ARE YOU FROM??

if you are Japaneze,( some Steve Irwin crew members are or have been in the past) Aussie, American or anything else, its just that some of us are beginning to realise that we cannot go on harvesting the seas at such a tremendous rate anymore. There are now just TOO MANY OF US.( white, red, black or whatever for sustainment.
If you disagree with Sea Shepherd & its beliefs then you must also agree to the cruel & wasteful finning of sharks, herding & slaughter of bottlenose dolphins & clubbimg of baby fur seals!