Canadian Coast Guard seizes Sea Shepherd vessel

Canadian Coast Guard seizes Sea Shepherd vessel

www.abc.net.au

Armed Canadian Coast Guard officers have boarded and seized an anti-sealing vessel in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.

The vessel is the Farley Mowat, the flagship of the Sea Shepherd Society, which has been observing the seal hunt for the past couple of weeks.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Surely , as a Dutch registered vessel this is not a legal act !!

We all need the likes of Captain Paul Watson and his crew to
keep the B#%23s honest do we not?

Cheers

Mungo

www.abc.net.au
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by mungodave


Its perfectly legal as long as it is in Canadian national waters. Given the location of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, I can't imagine that it isn't considered such.

Well they are an international group protecting rights of animals around the planet... You should all go watch the documentary Sharkwater... it's awesome.

Destroying life under water is very stupid... but people aren't concerned with that because they don't see it. And who would have an organisation protecting SHARKS???

Those people are heroes and should be left alone.

reply to post by vor78


I believe you are correct. Maritime Law is pretty specific, and of course, Coast Guard Captains are entrusted with great latitude to exercise their authority in such matters (rightfully so, I believe).

It's still a shame that the vessel had to be seized. Hopefully there was a 'reasonable' cause for such an otherwise serious action. - and not just that they were there. Perhaps there had been an earlier unreported encounter where the vessel's commander was told to leave.

If not this will play against Canadian authorities, which, interestingly enough, may have been the environmentalists intent in the first place. Gotta hate eco-politics.

I hope it is able to get back to work soon. The Sea Shepherd has done some amazing work protecting whales in the Great Southern ocean.

Originally posted by mungodave


Surely , as a Dutch registered vessel this is not a legal act !!

Of course it`s legal.

The two crew members arrested - the reason for the boarding and seizure - were charged after this incident, in which they rammed a coast guard vessel and came too close to ice pans where the sealers were hunting.

They have been charged with (a) coming withing 1/2 nautical mile of the seal hunt, and the captain has been charged with obstructing a fisheries officer. Story here.

They committed a crime within Canadian Jurisdiction, charges were filed, and they have been arrested. All legal. All this "Act of War" stuff is just Paul Watson`s usual line. The flag you fly from your vessel does not grant you immunity from local law..

Appears there are two sides to this..

Here is theirs, seems a bit heavy handed to me.

www.seashepherd.org...

Cheers

Mungo

Oh and I should point out I am not affiliated whatsoever with this
organisation, however I do support their actions

Cheers

Mungo

Originally posted by mungodave
Appears there are two sides to this..

Here is theirs, seems a bit heavy handed to me.

www.seashepherd.org...

Cheers

Mungo

I`m not sure what you mean by "heavy handed". Seems pretty much in line with any other maritime arrest I`ve seen. I don`t know why he sounds so surprised, either - the charges were filed a week ago. They knew this was coming. If he doesn`t know where his crew or vessel are, he can ask the CBC - they`ve been reporting that it`s being towed to Sydney NS.

He`s making a lot of claims about free passage based on the no economic activity clause, but he`s going to need some very good lawyers for that claim, considering the animal planet film crew they`ve apparently got on board.

Should be interesting to watch this one.

Let's not forget the framework here. Regardless of our (or say each party in this incidents) benefiting from the ability to cite regulations regarding specific rights and responsibilities. Any maritime court will NOT cast aside the very real 'tradition of confrontation' between activists and law enforcement.

I'm afraid that failure to comply with lawful direction is not excusable by technical consideration which only apply if you disregard who was involved and under what pretense.

Notice I am careful here not to cast 'moral' considerations into this mix, because the conflict may have been brought about by those with an ideological motive; but it is not why the Coast Guard was there. They are charged with protecting and enforcing regulations that aren't subject to the validation or invalidation by activists.

I think they need to 'confront' as part of their campaign, but in making themselves 'purposefull' objects of navigational hazard - they will not be 'winning' this case.

As I implied earlier - this may have been an acceptable outcome for them - since they, on their own, can't prevent the activity they are so strongly opposed to. This will reaffirm for those enjoined in their cause - that they are still out there, active, and doing what they can - thus prompting the financial and public support they need.

good for the canadian coast gaurd.

tree hugging hippies do not have the right going around all willie-nillie breaking law just to do what THEY think is right. and by they way who are they to be the self proclaimed protectors of the water. the oceans have been here for millions of years with out the pathatic sea sheapards and will be for million more years.

im not supprised by the actions of the ship. it is a well known and used tatic of hippies to act violently when no one takes their whinning and crying seriously.

It doesn't matter what your cause is. You break the law, you get charged, plain and simple.

If the Canadian coast guard were to turn a blind eye to the situation, THAT would be corruption. The fact that they arrested them, just shows they are performing their jobs to the letter.


If you have issues with seal hunts, take it up with the Inuit. They're the ones demanding it's a heritage right. Every time we try to deal with the natives, they block highways and rail lines.

Sure, you can arrest them each and every time, but they'll just be back to do it again, and again.


If you can figure out how to make a deal with the Inuit to stop their heritage of seal hunting, be my guest. These people don't hear your protests. The rest of us Canadians do, and we're already trying to deal with them ourselves.

Originally posted by DaleGribble
good for the canadian coast gaurd.

tree hugging hippies do not have the right going around all willie-nillie breaking law just to do what THEY think is right. and by they way who are they to be the self proclaimed protectors of the water. the oceans have been here for millions of years with out the pathatic sea sheapards and will be for million more years.

im not supprised by the actions of the ship. it is a well known and used tatic of hippies to act violently when no one takes their whinning and crying seriously.

Are you being entirely fair? I have no special compulsion to debate a matter of another countries law enforcement, but this can't be reduced to little sound bytes and generalizations.

These people didn't just wake up one day and decide to piss-off 'The Man'. People have been trying to open a debate about [EDIT] a perceived [END EDIT] injustice they believe is not represented fairly. I know they have tried to approach government's and communities all over the world. In some cases, they were well-met, and they may not have 'solved' the world's problems, but they weren't subjected to abuse for trying.

Big business, government pork projects, and other special interests have gotten to have their way without oversight, how did they achieve this? The activists are blocked and vilified, rejected in the halls of power, and otherwise 'prejudged'.

I don't know this captain, or these people, or even their cause really, but I can generalize about the fact that people like them, around the world, are actually doing something that requires personal sacrifice, as well as personal risk. If they could accomplish their goal another way, I'm pretty sure they would do that instead. Of course, I have to reiterate, this is a generalization which may not apply here - I was just addressing the 'Archie Bunker-ish' response you gave.



[edit on 13-4-2008 by Maxmars]

Some People may come across wrong and act foolishly

As one guy said why have the proclaimed themselves guardians of the waters or whatever... Personally i thought that was A good and foolish response at the same time.... The Ocean has been around for a long time... but if foolish people can board the sea shepperd.... foolish people can board the vessels killing whales and seals. Thats ok to kill animals to eat and all... but with world population as high as ours is.... I do not think there are enough Whales and seals to go arounf feeding the oceans and human race for an extended period of time.

Its good that the canadians stopped the fools.... but there should be more fools supporting the same cause... I would probably be on an electic/solar panel boat however because if these guys are so eco friendly why are they polluting the waters...

Once again my point is clear. It doesn't matter which party is getting in trouble... everyone has their faults and everyone is wrong in their own rightfully wrong way. Get used to it... its life.... What you gonna do about it?

reply to post by johnsky


It's an awful lot harsher when it comes to plowing the waves, friend.

After all, it's not like being flagged down on the motorway for dnd (although the captain of the vessel can infact be jailed for being dnd).

*Rattles head for info concerning territorial waters*

Last i heard, this is all perfectly legal*.

Hell, in extreme cases people get life sentences if they do anything to pollute eco-friendly waters (which is ironic when cases like these are taken into consideration).



*Considering i used to work for a shipping company, my opinion carries a bit of weight here, but who knows?

maybe things have changed in the past 6 months.



[edit on 13-4-2008 by Anti-Tyrant]

Concidering that sea shepperds have actually committed acts, that could tecnically be concidered piracy... they are lucky only to be arrested.

These morons should really understand that ramming a coast guard vessel could lead to recieving few 5" greetings in some areas.

Ps. I support their ideology to some extent, but they really should understand that someone may resort to extreme measures if you board his ship (like they did in Japan, luckily Japs are pacifists these days)

reply to post by Maxmars




i think i am being perfictly fair.

i have done much for wild life programs to preserve wildlife for our future generations. i have taken part in wild life repopulation projects on the state and federal level. i donate money to programs such as duck and quail unlimites, also progams in which the state grants money for people do their own reasearch on shell fish.

and ill be darned ive done all that with out ramming coast guard ship and breaking any other laws. there is much people can do with out force if they actually want to do things by the book and not their own way. hippies are all most always hipped up on drugs and doing crazy and stupid things that hinder a cause that many of us really truly care about. their blindness to the right way to do things makes me almost ashamed that my efforts could even be considered along the same lines.

had i been the captian of that coast guard vessil i would have opened up every gun i had when they rammed me. i guess its i good thing for them my military days are over.


[edit on 15pmu32007 by DaleGribble]

Originally posted by DaleGribble
reply to post by Maxmars

 

i think i am being perfictly fair.

i have done much for wild life programs to preserve wildlife for our future generations. i have taken part in wild life repopulation projects on the state and federal level. i donate money to programs such as duck and quail unlimites, also progams in which the state grants money for people do their own reasearch on shell fish.

and ill be darned ive done all that with out ramming coast guard ship and breaking any other laws. there is much people can do with out force if they actually want to do things by the book and not their own way. hippies are all most always hipped up on drugs and doing crazy and stupid things that hinder a cause that many of us really truly care about. their blindness to the right way to do things makes me almost ashamed that my efforts could even be considered along the same lines.

had i been the captian of that coast guard vessil i would have opened up every gun i had when they rammed me. i guess its i good thing for them my military days are over.


[edit on 15pmu32007 by DaleGribble]

Had the CG Captain opened fire, a good case could have been made that he was very much within his rights to do so. It will be interesting to see if the accused admits they rammed intentionally (only they will ever know otherwise). Like I said, I was generalizing more about people like you, than of them.

Problem is one day, should anything ever matter enough to make you take up public activism - someone will call you a tree-hugging drugged up hippie. Perhaps you'll laugh about it. I would object to being called that - and I have seen people 'wrongly' accused - so I like to be more conservative until I know more of the facts.