Target Re-Acquired!

The whaling blockade is on again!
On Wed.9th., Sea Shepherd's hi-speed interceptor Gojira re-acquired the Japanese factory ship Nisshin Maru. Busted in the middle of flensing a whale on deck, NM tried to flee through ice. Gojira harrassed the huge factory ship, to buy time for Bob Barker to arrive from 28 miles away.

Nisshin Maru: near miss

NM 'hot-dogged' with G, veering off a collision course with only 20m to spare. This dangerous tactic has been used by the nasty Nippons several times this season against G. Now, it's one thing to nudge a solid metal ship with another - but it's a completely different story to hit a vessel made of 'glass sandwich' construction with an 8,000 ton monolith! There would be only one outcome from that action (as seen last year) and so, by attempting to cause that, there can be nothing but deliberate intent to ram and destroy in the mind of the Japanese captain!

Bob Barker tailing
Nisshin Maru
2009-2010

Early yesterday morning (Thurs.10th.), under cover of darkness, NM and a harpoon boat headed into thick pack ice: G was able to meet them on the far side of each floe using her speed advantage. Then BB arrived to take over the pursuit, blocking the stern slipway of the factory ship to stop further attempts to offload dead whales. BB is now easily tailing NM through thick pack ice, while G continues to skirt around the ice looking for harpoon vessels.
Steve Irwin’s brief stay in Wellington, NZ last weekend provided them with everything they needed to return to the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary: donations of food (especially fresh produce) for all three vessels, plus a full load of 250,000L of marine diesel. Wellington really laid on the generosity, with an incredible amount of donated tools, supplies, equipment, and services.

Steve Irwin

SI sailed on Wednesday evening and will RV with the fleet in about five days. BB will hold position on NM's stern until SI arrives. By doing that, the nasty Nippons cannot process dead whales, allowing Sea Shepherd to again effectively shut down their whaling "research".