Anti-Whaling ship, Bob Barker, collide with Japanese fleet

Anti-Whaling Ship Collides With Japanese Boat Off Antarctica
Saturday, February 06, 2010

AP SYDNEY — The anti-whaling ship the Bob Barker and a Japanese harpoon boat collided in the icy waters off Antarctica on Saturday — the second major clash this year in the increasingly aggressive confrontations between the two sides.

No one was reportedly injured in the latest strike. The U.S.-based activist group Sea Shepherd, which sends vessels to confront the Japanese fleet each year, said a small hole was torn in the hull of its ship, but it was above the water line and the vessel was not in danger of sinking.

Sea Shepherd founder Captain Paul Watson said by satellite telephone that the Japanese ship rammed the Bob Barker — named after the U.S. game show host who donated millions to buy it for Sea Shepherd — as it blocked the slipway of the Japanese fleet's factory ship.

Watson's claim that the Bob Barker was deliberately hit could not be independently verified.

Japanese Fisheries Agency official Takashi Mori said officials were trying to confirm details of a reported clash.

Saturday's collision was the second this year between a Sea Shepherd boat and the Japanese fleet.

On Jan. 6, a Japanese whaler struck Sea Shepherd's high-tech speed boat Ady Gil and sheared off its nose. The Bob Barker then came to rescue the crew of the Ady Gil, which sank a day later.

Sea Shepherd and the whalers have faced off in Antarctic waters for the past few years over Japan's annual whale hunt, with each side accusing the other of acting in increasingly dangerous ways.

SOURCE

Ok, so I am against whaling as much as the next sane person...

BUT...

How is what these guys are doing to these Japanese ships really any different than the Somali pirates? Both are attacking ships in international waters in order to interfere with their commerce. The only difference is that while one wants a ransom of money, the other wants a ransom of whales!

How is it not ok for the Japanese ship to open fire on these sea terrorists and sink their price is right boat? I say, poke a hole in their boat and let their whales save them. (Too harsh?)

Looks like I had posted this in the wrong forum... This seems like a better one.

LETS PLAY HIGH LOW!

You get 3 tries to make the Price is Right!



Ooops. Shot too high!

Oooops. Below waterline!

BOOOOOOSH! Correct on target! Rod Roddy, What did they win?

Well, Bob, the Japanese contestants won the right to get on with their business!

Gotta love these green types!

My great great grandfather was a whaling captain out of Boston but I hate what "modern" whaling is. The Japanese "research" (translation: sashimi) is nothing more than commercial whaling. But I think the Sea Shepherd Society are no different than Earthfirsters, vandals.

I think what the japanese are doing isn't cool at all, but I also think that they should have the right to fight back against the hippie terrorists/pirates.

I would suggest using the brown tone on them, but they might not notice over the smell of the patchoulli...

Maybe a torpedo?

Had to post this (turn it up);


The whalesong is coming from a guitar.


[edit on 2/6/2010 by Phage]

From the little I understand the Sea Shepherd, and other such vessels primarily observe the actions of these whalers, although many times they will become involved to prevent the whalers taking whales. This is a good thing.

The "accident" wasn't at a slipway, it was in the open sea according the reports here in Austrlia. And yes the Whaler deliberately turned course to attempt a sinking of the boat in question. This based on the witness reports of the time.

Some need to realise that Japanese whalers are not just taking whales from international waters, many times they have been shadowed by Australian Naval ships in Australian waters because in the past the whalers have "fished" in our waters.

Japan is the main stickler in the mud here concerning whaling and refuses to accept an overwhelming majority opposed to their activities, much like how China and Nth Korea flip the bird to the rest of us.

Phage is very correct that their actions although claimed to be for 'scientific research only' are very much food and related industry motivated.

I just read that these fools also throw something onto the whaler ships that disables the ships and actually ruins the whale meat. Not only are they endangering the lives of the crews they're ensuring that the whales die in vain. They're no better than pirates and are hurting their cause more than they're helping it.

Originally posted by Raverous
Not only are they endangering the lives of the crews they're ensuring that the whales die in vain.

The whales die in vain regardless if the meat is used.

Originally posted by SteveR

Originally posted by Raverous
Not only are they endangering the lives of the crews they're ensuring that the whales die in vain.

The whales die in vain regardless if the meat is used.

False. The meat goes into hungry mouths and the rest is generally used in some way. Regardless of anyone's views on eating meat or whaling, just destroying it after the critter is already dead does nothing but enrage the person who killed it and they'll just kill another one after you leave.

Agree with whaling or not(personally I don't but I'm not going to tell other people they can't.) any maritime job is hard work and to have some holier than thou group of jerks just come along and destroy it would be enough to piss anyone off.

The bottom line is, whaling(and all hunting for that matter) is not likely to ever be stopped completely, It's part of many cultures. The whalers aren't hunting endangered whale. All these people are doing is making themselves look insane. They're making things more tense and frankly I wouldn't be surprised if we hear about this crew being killed in retaliation one day.

reply to post by Raverous

Not really "hungry mouths". It's good business.

'Whale meat represents Showa. It used to be food for the common people but prices have soared since the halt on commercial whaling' in the 1980s, he said.

www.asiaone.com...

So the government and pro-whaling groups have pumped cash into the promotion of eating whale meat. The government is spending about $5 million a year on such campaigns, while groups of housewives and other organizations are sponsoring whale cooking classes and related seminars to stimulate the market, according to officials and industry sources.

www.washingtonpost.com...

[edit on 2/6/2010 by Phage]

reply to post by Phage


So people eat whale when they are NOT hungry?

How exactly does that work?

reply to post by Lemon.Fresh


The people that buy whale meat are not starving. They do not need it to survive. It is not given away. Japanese whaling is a business carried out under the auspices of "research" in order to evade the IWC. If people did not buy the meat, the research would cease.

[edit on 2/6/2010 by Phage]

Video of the incident is up.

link:
www.liveleak.com...

Hard it tell if it's intentional or not. It looks as if they were both turning into each other till the last moment.


As far as killing whales goes.... I honestly don't see the difference between killing whales and killing cows? Can someone explain to me what the actual difference is?


[edit on 6/2/2010 by C0bzz]

Originally posted by Phage
reply to post by Lemon.Fresh

 

The people that buy whale meat are not starving. They do not need it to survive. It is not given away. Japanese whaling is a business carried out under the auspices of "research" in order to evade the IWC. If people did not buy the meat, the research would cease.

[edit on 2/6/2010 by Phage]

Tell me . . .


Is the whale being used for human consumption, or are the whales dying for nothing?

reply to post by Lemon.Fresh

The whales are dying for profit. You can argue the "morality" of that all you want but they are not being killed for research. Would you like to argue the morality of duplicity?

If I was on a collision course with a boat named Bob Barker you'd just have to call in the chips. I'd be laughing too hard to do anything. This is looney tunes stuff. Not only do neither the commercial Japanese boats or the Bob Barker have any military authority, both are serving selfish purposes. People with too much time on their hands yelling across the water at eachother on the high seas. It's already been pointed out that the whaling industry is not crucial to feeding the Japanese people, more a luxury item and government sanctioned.

It would also be much more feasible to convice people to stop eating whale meat, shark fins etc. than it would be to commission a boat, likely smaller than the whaling vessels to play chicken with anyone you don't like in freezing waters.

reply to post by C0bzz

Cattle are raised to be eaten (and they are delicious). The whales being killed are not (I don't know what they taste like). I've "known" living cattle and I've been close to whales. There is a difference.

Cattle are not in danger of extinction.

This is all a stunt for season 3 of Whale Wars on DIS Channel... They want higher ratings.... j/k

I've watched last season, and while I think Whaling is wrong, maneuvering your ship on a collision course is literally SUICIDE down there...

You don't last long down there. even WITH a ship. lol.. crazy.

I applaud the efforts of the Sea Shepard and the Bob Barker. Heroes!