Wilderness and Wildlife Conservation

Sea Shepherd Resumes Pursuit of Illegal Whalers

On January 8, 2010 at 17:20 (GMT) the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society vessel Bob Barker reported the last known position of another Sea Shepherd vessel, the Ady Gil, to the Australian Rescue Coordination Center (ARCC). This report was made because the Ady Gil—which was originally going to be towed to a nearby base—is now sinking and could pose a navigation hazard for the next two to three hours.

Having barely survived a vicious attack by the illegal Japanese whaling vessel Shonan Maru No. 2 on January 6, 2010, the Ady Gil began taking on water. Since that time, Bob Barker crew members have been working around the clock in an attempt to save the ship and remove possible environmental hazards in case the vessel had further complications while being towed.

During the final towing attempt, the ropes holding the Ady Gil in place behind the Bob Barker snapped—seemingly the result of water accumulating in the vessel. Upon examination, the Ady Gil was found to be approximately 30% submerged, including the engine room and main fuel tanks. Fortunately, all fuel and lubricants had been removed form the Ady Gil hours earlier.

The Bob Barker’s call to the ARCC fulfilled Sea Shepherd’s legal reporting requirements for this incident, but not its obligation to protect whales from the illegal Japanese fleet that is killing whales illegally in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.

The Bob Barker will now rejoin the Steve Irwin in pursuit of the whaling fleet to continue defending the whales.

Related articles…

• Sea Shepherd’s $2M powerboat destroyed by Japanese whalers (nationalpost.com)
• Environmental group’s powerboat destroyed by Japanese whalers (calgaryherald.com)
• Bob Barker gave $5 million to Sea Shepherd, which bought a Norwegian harpoon ship (realityblurred.com)
• Sea Shepherd Unveils New Weapon to Fight Whale Hunters (gcaptain.com)

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