Sea Shepherd Saves Whale Pod from Whalers Date: Mon, 12 Feb 2007 21:54:45 +1300 Sea Shepherd Saves Whale Pod from Whalers The Sea Shepherd ships Robert Hunter and the Farley Mowat caught the Japanese whaler Kaiko Maru bearing down on a pod of whales when they moved in and chased the whaler into the ice. At one point the Kaiko Maru turned to starboard and struck the Robert Hunter to force the Sea Shepherd into the ice floes. The Robert Hunter sustained a hull penetration in the starboard bow section above the waterline. The Sea Shepherd activists demanded that the whaler leave the Antarctic Whale Sanctuary and cease and desist from illegally killing whales. At one point the Keiko Maru backed into the Robert Hunter puncturing the Sea Shepherd ship's hull on the port stern side inflicting a one-metre gash above the waterline. The Kaiko Maru then issued a distress signal. Both Sea Shepherd ships acknowledged the distress signal but the whalers refused to say what distress they were in. The Kaiko Maru reported to New Zealand search and rescue that they were in "grave and immediate danger." Captain Paul Watson assured New Zealand SAR that there would be no aggressive action taken by Sea Shepherd against the Kaiko Maru. The Japanese Whaling industry response is that the Robert Hunter rammed the Kaiko Maru. Sea Shepherd however has videotaped both rammings and the documentation will clearly show who the aggressor is. Sea Shepherd engineers are now repairing the damage to the Robert Hunter's hull. The pursuit of the whaling fleet continue. The confrontation began at 1600 Hours (Auckland time) Position: 65 Degrees 27 Minutes South 164 Degrees 00 Minutes East
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