Whale Wars: Cat and Mouse Games

Off Antarctica, Sea Shepherd continues to harrass the Japanese factory ship Nisshin Maru.

Having been denied the opportunity to offload their kills, the whaling fleet ran fast to the northeast - attempting to outrun the Bob Barker - not knowing that the Steve Irwin was hiding in wait behind an iceberg.

Now NM is being dogged by both SS vessels, one on either side of her stern. Following in their wakes are the Japanese vessels Shonan Maru 2, Yushin Maru 1 and Yushin Maru 2. There is no sign of the Yushin Maru 3, which was left stationery after its ramming of BB a few days ago.

The good news: no whales have died since BB intercepted the fleet on February 6th. Captain Paul Watson aboard SI is confident the Japanese kill quota will be severely limited again this season. Both Sea Shepherd vessels have enough fuel to pursue the whalers for another month.
PS: 11 Feb.2010 – The whalers have now completely U-turned and headed straight back to the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary with SS in hot pursuit. A 5hr.water cannon battle targeted SS's helicopter on SI: the BB positioned itself to block the attacks. This time, no collisions but many near-misses.

PS: 15 Feb.2010 - Pete Bethune, NZ skipper of sunken Sea Shepherd vessel Ady Gil has boarded Japan's security vessel SM2 that hit his boat. He has a AUS$3-million bill to present and plans a citizen's arrest of the skipper for the destruction of AG and "attempted murder" of the six crew...
PS: 16 Feb.2010 - Whether a serious attempt or a mere publicity stunt, Pete Bethune's actions seem to have finally stirred the NZ Government into at least talking to Japan about the current situation.