Japanese Whaler Moves Away From Antarctica

Japanese Whaler Moves Away From Antarctica



Feb 2007 - The 
Japanese whaling vessel Nisshin Maru restarted its engines and 
departed the Ross Sea Sunday, 10 days after a fire disabled 
the ship and claimed the life of one crew member. 
The Nisshin Maru is the mother ship of a whaling fleet run by 
the Institute of Cetacean Research, an organization based in 
Tokyo and affiliated with the Japanese government. Two other 
vessels of the fleet accompanied the Nisshin Maru northward. 
The removal of the ship alleviated fears expressed by the New 
Zealand government that fuel oil or toxic chemicals would be 
spilled, contaminating one of the largest penguin colonies in 
the Antarctic. 
Dr. Hiroshi Hatanaka, director general of the Institute of 
Cetacean Research, said that crew had worked tirelessly day 
and night to restore the vessel to working order since the 
. 
More than 125 people were evacuated from the vessel when the 
fire broke out, leaving a crew of about 30 who extinguished 
the fire and repaired the vessel's electrical system and 
engines. 
"The Nisshin Maru had to pass all the necessary requirements 
the skipper needed to be done before she could depart the Ross 
Sea, and we need some more time for adjustment and testing of 
the Nisshin Maru’s equipment," Hatanaka said. "It has been our 
goal to get the Nisshin Maru underway as soon as possible, but 
in a way that ensured the safety of everyone involved." 
He said there was never any indication that the Antarctic 
environment was in any way under threat from the accident, 
despite regular accusations to the contrary from Greenpeace 
and the New Zealand Conservation Minister Chris Carter. 
"Minister Carter’s continued claims that toxic chemicals could 
leak from the ship and Greenpeace’s wild and slanted 
accusations that the damage was too great to fix, that the 
vessel needed an immediate tow by them, or that the engines 
were too damaged to work were all false then and remain false 
now," said Hatanaka. "The crew acted very responsibly and are 
to be congratulated for their efforts in ensuring an excellent 
outcome." 
One of the two whaling ships that stayed with the Nisshin Maru 
is a fueling tanker. All three ships were refueled Sunday and 
began moving north. 
Greenpeacers aboard their ship Esperanza say they will 
"escort" the Nisshin Maru out of the Southern Whale Sanctuary, 
but Institute continues to reject any involvement with the 
environmental group. 
The crew of the Esperanza displays a banner demanding an end 
to whaling as the Japanese fleet prepares to depart the 
Southern Ocean. 
The Esperanza arrived at the location in the Ross Sea on 
February 17, after receiving a distress call from the Nisshin 
Maru. But since then, the Japanese have not accepted the 
Greenpeace offer of a tow away from the environmentally 
sensitive Antarctic coast, nor any other assistance from the 
Greenpeace vessel. 
Greenpeace spokeswoman Melanie Duchen says the Esperanza now 
is about 10 kilometers (six miles) behind the Japanese fleet. 
She says they will leave the whaling fleet at the border of 
the Antarctic Whale Sanctuary. 
The Japanese have not stated clearly whether or not the fleet 
will resume whaling, which they maintain is being conducted 
for research. The Japanese announced a self-imposed quota of 
935 minke whales and 10 endangered fin whales this year. 
New Zealand Conservation Minister Chris Carter says he has 
been assured by the Japanese Ambassador that the fleet would 
not resume whaling, and says he can only accept the 
ambassador's word. 
He hopes the "loss of face" the fire has caused will encourage 
the Japanese to stop whaling. 
But Institute spokesman Glenn Inwood, a New Zealander based in 
Japan, told the "New Zealand Herald" Sunday it is "likely they 
would stay and carry on whaling." 
The Japanese position is that the Scientific Committee of the 
International Whaling Commission agreed in 1990 that there 
were 760,000 Minke whales in the Antarctic Ocean as a result 
of a comprehensive evaluation of Minke whale resources. 
In 1992, the committee calculated that an annual catch of two 
thousand to four thousand Antarctic Minke whales for 100 years 
would not adversely affect the stock, the Japanese say. 
Greenpeace has threatened what it calls "peaceful direct 
action" if the Nisshin Maru resumes whaling. 
Captain Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society 
who confronted the Nisshin Maru earlier this month in the 
Antarctic Whale Sanctuary says the ship is "limping" north and 
its whaling season is over. 
"The Nisshin Maru is severely damaged," Watson said today. 
"The main engine was started but electrical systems are barely 
functioning. The whale processing equipment is ruined. The 
winches used to haul up the whales are inoperable. The cargo 
of whale meat onboard has been partially if not completely 
spoiled by loss of refrigeration and intense heat. In 
addition, the whale meat has been contaminated by chemicals 
used to fight the blaze and spilt during the fire." 
"What Japan has just demonstrated over the last 10 days," said 
Watson, "is a total contempt for international concerns for 
the environmental protection of Antarctic wildlife. This 
whaling fleet is an ecological time-bomb. The potential for 
disaster is a real and ever present danger when they are down 
in the Whale Sanctuary illegally slaughtering endangered 
whales." 
The Sea Shepherd ships Robert Hunter and Farley Mowat are now 
docked in Melbourne, Australia. Preparations have already 
begun to outfit a campaign to intervene against the 
possibility of a return of the whaling fleet in December. 

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