Whale War Of Words

NZer Pete Bethune, one-time owner and last skipper of Ady Gil (deliberately rammed by the Japanese whaling ship Shonan Maru II in Antarctic waters last January) is waging a web war of words with Sea Shepherd leader Paul Watson.
Bethune claims that after the ramming, Watson ordered him to sink Ady Gil, even though he felt it could have been salvaged. He says the order was covered up, to "garner sympathy with the public and create better TV" (for the forthcoming Whale Wars series). He also claims "lies, deception and dishonesty" surround his parting of the ways with Sea Shepherd. But Watson says Bethune was expelled from the organisation because evidence from his trial shows he colluded with the Japanese (who were really out for Watson’s blood), in order to gain leniency.

On Sea Shepherd's website are sworn testimonies from crew members, and actual film footage, which seem to completely contradict Bethune’s claims. Have a look – you decide...

Whatever the truth (which so often lies somewhere between two opposing arguments), it saddens me that those who once joined forces to stymie the efforts of the marauding Nippon whalers are now nipping at each other. This sort of animosity only undermines the good that Bethune and Watson did together, and plays into the hands of the morally bankrupt Japanese whaling industry.