Activist Boat Collides With Japanese Whaling Vessel

A futuristic powerboat used by the anti-whaling activist group Sea Shepherd to harass Japanese whaling vessels in Antarctic waters has been badly damaged in a collision with a Japanese ship. On its Web site, Sea Shepherd accused the Japanese vessel, the Shonan Maru No. 2, of deliberately ramming the carbon-fiber powerboat, the Ady Gil. But Japan’s Institute of Cetacean Research, which oversees Japan’s whaling activities in the Southern Ocean, said the Ady Gil pulled in front of the Shonan Maru in an effort to entangle its rudder and propeller in a rope. Sea Shepherd said the six-person crew of the Ady Gil was rescued, but that one activist suffered broken ribs during the collision in frigid seas. Video of the Ady Gil showed that its bow had been sheared off, and there were conflicting reports as to whether the $1.4 million vessel was sinking. This is the sixth season that Sea Shepherd has hounded the Japanese whaling fleet in Antarctic waters. The group has employed increasingly aggressive tactics to interfere with the whaling activities, during which Japan kills several hundred minke whales annually for alleged research purposes. Most of the meat is sold in Japanese markets.