The organisation has expressed regret at an announcement that Greenpeace will not be sending a ship to the area for the upcoming whaling season, which begins in early December. Last time around, Greenpeace campaigned alongside Sea Shepherd by sending a vessel to the region.
Sea Shepherd's vessel Steve Irwin will leave from Australia at the end of November for what will be the organisation's fifth voyage to obstruct what it views as illegal whaling in the Antarctic Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.
Sea Shepherd alleges that Greenpeace has backed out of active protest following a statement from Japan that it will be sending a gunboat to protect its whaling ships. In late October Greenpeace Australia said that it would be sending a vessel but, says Sea Shepherd, the Japanese announcement has led to a volte farce.
Captain Paul Watson, Steve Irwin's plucky skipper who was once a co-founder of Greenpeace, said it was 'shame on them' that Greenpeace had withdrawn so late in the day from sending a ship, after 'raising millions of dollars in the name of defending whales all year'.
Whereas Greenpeace's campaigning will now centre on lobbying and possibly international court rooms, Sea Shepherd is holding steady in its belief that direct action is both justified and beneficial.
It has also hired a former US federal agent as a criminal investigator. Scott West will accompany the Sea Shepherd team aboard the Steve Irwin.
'They can send the entire Japanese Navy down to the Southern Ocean if they like, but Sea Shepherd and the crew of the Steve Irwin will not be intimidated... I have not seen a whale die since I left Greenpeace in 1977 and I have no intention of seeing a whale die this year,' said Captain Watson.
'They don't kill whales when we show up and they won't kill whales when we arrive again this year. They will have to sink us first.' |
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