Sea Shepherd POV On Whaling Ship Collision Released

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by Michael dEstries February 10, 2009
Categories: Animals, Causes
Tags: .

As a follow-up to yesterday’s widely discussed video of the Sea Shepherd’s Steve Irwin ramming a Japanese whaling ship, here is a new video from on-board the Irwin.

We can clearly see a whale being hoisted up into the belly of the first boat, while apparently the second ship, the Yushin Maru No 3, focuses its LRAD (Long-Range Acoustic Device) on the Steve Irwin. We then hear a call for helmets and Paul Watson saying, “Hang on.” as he pilots the ship into the side of the Japanese boat.

Obviously, there’s no doubt the tactic was intentional — contrary to what Watson may have said in statements to the press. “I was dazed by the sonic blasts being used on us at close range,” Watson said. “I have to admit it was difficult to concentrate with that devise being focused on us.”

I’m not sure if that’s an excuse for hitting the ship or just an observation. Either way, the stakes are being raised every year with these confrontations.


Categories: Animals, Causes
Tags: .

About Michael dEstries

Michael has been blogging since 2005 on issues such as sustainability, renewable energy, philanthropy, and healthy living. He regularly contributes to a slew of publications, as well as consulting with companies looking to make an impact using the web and social media. He lives in Ithaca, NY with his family on an apple farm.

View all posts by Michael dEstries →
  • http://uvuaac.blogspot.com/ Jorgen

    Go Sea Shepherd! Watson is my hero!

  • steph

    +1 w/ Jorgen

  • dominique

    do unto other as you would have them do unto you.
    If I were a Whale in danger, i would hope Paul Watson was nearby. And if I were a whaler, well . . . live by the sword. human life is equal to all life. Violence is not the answer but forcefully making a point ( a boat ram to save a life) can be useful. Despite criticism I just have a hard time being upset at the choices made by Paul and his crew. if I were on board I think I would do the exact same thing.

  • Alex

    You should probably refrain from making judgments about something you apparently don’t know much about. it seems like you only know about sea shepherd from what was shown on Whale Wars. of course they rammed the ship — they’ve rammed japanese ships in the past. however, they were trying to stand their ground behind the factory ship to prevent the transfer of the whale to be butchered. The harpoon vessel crossed into their path, and Watson made no effort to move. He rammed the ship. So what? It’s nothing new. It’s not an escalation on Watson’s part, it’s the same stuff as usual.

  • http://www.veganjapan.net herwin

    michael , whats you point in posting these articles ? SeaSpeherd never makes it a secret that its tactics includes the ramming of poachers.
    SeaShepherd Go Go !! :-)

  • scram

    I think it’s fair to point out the fact that the Sea Shepherd deliberately rammed the vessel. It clearly did.

    However, this and the last article are not being fair in presenting the overall balanced picture. The Japanese fleet have been threatening the lives of the crew of the Sea Shepherd throughout this campaign: The LRAD devices have been used inappropriately, being directed at the ship’s helicopter whilst in flight and at close range to the small boats used by the SS. What’s more, there’s video footage of Japanese whalers throwing metal objects at the people on the smaller boats at great risk to those on board.

    I’m not advocating a “well they were worse, so it’s alright” standpoint, but I think a bit of perspective would not go amiss.

  • http://nothoney.com sheryl

    Capt. Watson is a personal hero of mine. They have always rammed ships and no one has ever been hurt. Go Sea Shepherd!

    • Sparhawk

      Nobody has ever been hurt? Apparently you don’t know much about your legendary hero and will most likely take his side if he ended up killing a family member that happened to be on his ship. Of course people have gotten hurt. From the show alone you can see the damage inflicted upon Paul’s own crew from broken bones, to gashes, to concussions. Ever think to wonder who is getting hurt on the Japanese Whaling Fleet? Hurling glass bottles (unlike the chemicals inside, glass will hurt) at a boat with more than 70 crew aboard is safe? Those ‘horrible Japanese people’ as you call them are HUMAN BEINGS. You make it sound like every single one of those workers dropped what they were doing so they could go kill whales for the hell of it. Jobs are hard to come by anywhere and if killing whales is the only job you can do to support your family, what would you do? Let your children starve because you don’t like the way something is?
      To all the people who feel as strongly as Paul does I have one question for you. Why are you bitch and moaning about how wrong it is, instead of taking action. Go sign up for the sea shepherd and see how much good you do.
      The Japanese whaling fleet last year missed their Fin whale quota by 2% and their Minke quota by 27%. The fact is the fleet did not loose their quota due to the Sea Shepherd but just like any other fishing vessel, came up short.

  • Whoever…

    This is what I posted on the last thread concerning this issue and I maintain my statement.

    BTW, this is only directed to people who believe these tactics are too extreme:

    “What hypocrites… some of you are…!

    So, you want to save animals but it’s too shocking and violent for you when things get tough!!

    Well, let me tell you that japanese whalers are not the least worried about cruelly killing thousands of whales…!!

    This is just a matter of picking sides! Either you are on the side of those who believe humans are superior to animals and then you shouldn’t see anything wrong in the meat and fishing industry, or you’re on the side of those who believe animals should have the right to live freely without being exploited and killed by humans and, in that case, you should believe this was a mere act of justice!

    This is an issue where there’s not a grey area! It’s either black or white!
    When words don’t work, you got to get down to business! This is war!!
    What do soldiers do in war? To protect one side (their country, their people) they must kill the other side (’enemy’)…
    And if that means getting violent, so be it!

    Otherwise, you’re just a new age hippie who wants love and peace but you’re not committed to actually changing things! It’s not by saying out loud that animals shouldn’t be killed that people will actually stop doing it!
    If economic pressure, boycotting, debating, etc. doesn’t work…

    Animal cruelty will never end if people just talk! Meanwhile millions of animals worldwide are being tortured, tested on, skinned alive, hunted, fished, exploited and cruelly killed…

    Isn’t that an act of violence?

    People who defend that animals are on the planet to be used by people are less hypocrites than those vegetarians/vegans who say violence shouldn’t be used (as a last resource) to save a ‘few’ whales.

    No! let’s just reason with those nice men who are murdering the whales! Maybe in 10/20 years they will see our point of view… maybe…

    Now I know why we will never win this fight – ‘they’ are not worried about cruelly killing animals while on the other hand some of ‘us’ get all shocked when violence is used…

    I just feel sad for the millions of animals who are being killed right now because most of ‘us’ are spineless people who don’t want to get our hands ‘dirty’!!!!”

  • fbr

    Whoever, so humans are equal to animals. Other animals kill each other (for fun and for food), therefore humans can kill other animals (for fun and for food). Right? Furthermore, your goal is to stop violence towards animals but advocate violence towards humans.

    By the way, your rhetoric is straight out of Bush’s playbook. All the way down to the “you’re either with us or against us” and labeling random things as “war”.

  • Matt

    Hey fbr, some animals rape as a form of procreation. Some eat their own young. If some animals do it, then does that mean it is okay for people to do it?

    Some animals are vegetarian, including many primates. Humans are primates. Maybe we should follow their example.

  • Pingback: More Video of the Controversial Sea Shepherd Ramming Incident | EcoSilly

  • fbr

    Matt, why are you asking me? It was “Whoever” that was equating humans and animals – I was just pointing out the complete incoherence of his dribble. You can’t equate killing of animals and killing of humans. And just because some primates are vegetarians doesn’t make humans any less omnivores.

  • http://RawfoodsRetreat.com Erin Raw foods retreat

    I just have one question. if they’re going to ram it why didn’t they ram them BEFORE they took a whale on board? you know, do it while they were going to catch the whale so the whale could get away? what’s the use of doing it afterward ? (my apologies i dont watch much tv and don’t understand the whole operation)

    Erin

  • maelstrom

    “Ramming” is a technique used by every navy and coast guard on earth. It’s commonly used to garner compliance BEFORE lethal force is applied. Just for fun try googling “Japan coast guard ramming” and see what you get.
    Sea Shepherd has never hurt anyone in the process of ramming…Japan can’t say the same.

  • fbr

    maelstrom, Sea Shepherd is neither part of a navy nor a coast guard. They have no business ramming anyone.

  • maelstrom

    Just as the Japanese have no business whaling in a whale sanctuary, fbr…if there were a navy down there enforcing the law then sea shepherd wouldn’t have to.

  • JL

    fbr – I never lawl, but that made me crack a smile.

  • http://sharkdivers.blogspot.com/ Whales Not Television Ratings

    As Sea Shepherd departs from the Southern ocean, once again, claiming to have saved whales from evil whalers let’s take a look at their anti whaling efforts in perspective.

    This week titular head of organization Paul Watson rammed his vessel into whalers with Animal Planet film crews capturing every moment for season two of Whale Wars. Classic Wagging the Conservation Dog moment with just days to go for Sea Shepherds departure from the area.

    The conflict of interest with their reality television relationship goes beyond mentioning, suffice to say it begs the question “what is real and what is staged?”

    After this weeks boat ramming spree Watson then claimed “the situation down here is getting very, very chaotic and very aggressive”. This statement is tantamount to anti meat protesters ramming their cars into the side of beef processing factories and claiming the same. Add to that a waiting reality television film crew and you begin to see not only the uselessness of actions like these but the abject media fueled cannibalism of the entire event.

    What you are looking at is staged eco theater with a side of dead whale at a cost of millions of well meaning dollars from people who really want to see and end to whaling. Like us.

    To put this into perspective, this year Watson and company will claim to have saved perhaps 60 whales, that claim, like so many others from Sea Shepherd, will be seriously contested. Meanwhile Watson and company dangerously and egregiously risked a fuel oil breach from either his own vessel or those he rammed in the Southern ocean this year.

    In the time it took Sea Shepherd to elicit funds, build a campaign, invite a reality television crew aboard and pump out a mass of seriously massaged media sound bites-whales died worldwide:

    48 Sperm Whales Stranding

    2 Right Whales Stranding

    65 Pilot Whales Stranding

    10 Sperm and Pilot Wales Stranding

    150 Pilot Whales Stranding

    At what cost per whale will donors continue to subsidize and support ineffective media theatre brought to you by Sea Shepherd and company. For us the equation is simple:

    Has whaling stopped? No.

    Will season two of Whale Wars have moments of high drama with vessels being rammed? Yes.

    Is this quality eco work? The answer to that question can be answered with the contents of your wallet or your check book. Place you bets where they will be most effective. For our money Sea Shepherd is out of touch, out of game, and out of time.

  • fbr

    maelstrom, what law? You’re probably referring to the IWC agreements. Those, like all international agreements, only apply to the parties who sign them. Just because some countries have decided to designate an area as a whale sanctuary doesn’t mean that it’s “illegal” for someone else to catch whales there.

    Of course, Japan has actually signed an agreement not to catch whales commercially. They have not signed an agreement not to catch whales for research, and therefore are not technically doing anything wrong (it’s up to them to decide how they do their “research”). It’s a question of a badly negotiated agreement that allows whaling to continue.

    If you try to argue the issue from AR point of view (“you have no right to kill and eat animals”) you won’t get very far. If you try to argue from a preservation point of view (“you have a right to eat whales, but let’s make sure we don’t end up driving them extinct”) then you might get somewhere. The Sea Shepherd type thugish stunts only end up making it harder to reach a settlement – which means one has to wonder if stopping whaling really is the real motivation behind their operations (rather than, say, getting their own TV show).

  • Karen

    Go Sea Shepherd Go!!!!!!!!!!

  • maelstrom

    fbr…i’m not going to bother to list the treaties that japan is in violation of. if you really care you can look em up yourself. got google?

  • maelstrom

    BTW…alot of you cats seem pretty upset that sea shepherd got a show on TV…maybe you greenpeacers need to put down your banners and figure out a better way to get your message across???
    Greenpeace has been “saving the whales” for 4 decades now…why do they still need saving?
    Ram on Sea Shepherd!

  • fbr

    maelstrom, please post the list of treaties Japan is violating. They’re not in violation of ICRW or UNCLOS and I’m not aware of any other treaty that would be relevant here.

  • maelstrom

    fbr…bait someone else.

  • Pingback: Japan Blames Sea Shepherd, Weather For Falling Short Of Whaling Targets // Archives // ecorazzi.com :: the latest in green gossip

  • LRAD The Hippie Fryer

    Hopefully the Japanese will purchase some surplus surface-to-surface missiles and hand them out to the whalers.

  • Hart

    Those Jap poachers are lucky Watson is committed to non-violent intervention, because if he wanted to injure of kill them, do you really think anything could stop him?

    • Sparhawk

      Hart…Doesn’t the bullet that Paul claimed he got shot with in his chest suggest they are more than capable of stopping him? Lets see, 4 boats versus 1..
      The 4 boats inventory is unknown.
      The 1 boat has an inventory of completely harmless chemicals. The only weapon Paul has is the Sea Shepherd itself, and he has no problem risking lives using it as a weapon.

  • navy guy

    anyone who supports the sea shepherd are a bunch of new age hippies. hey lets stop killing cows,chickens and those endangered heads of lettuce. what about the 30 yr old steve irwin using diesel engines isnt diesel bad i believe the crew should turn off the ships engines and paddle at 17 knots to catch the japanese then i will support them. until then send them some shampoo to wash their dreadlock infested hippie hair.

  • http://www.ecorazzi.com Michael Andre d’Estries

    @navyguy: I’m not sure what’s funnier: a.) your lack of cohesive thought or b.) the questioning of your own logic halfway through a critique (“isnt diesel bad?)

    Clever.

  • Dino

    Sea sheppards haven’t saved any whales. the Japanese still get their quotas. It works in their favor to let people think they haven’t met their quota when in reality they probably exceed it.
    Pual Karesh wants you to beleive his band of bungling fools are making progress to get more donations. everything this blthering idiot says is a lie and gullible people beleive him.

  • m watkins

    i applauded when capt watson was ramming the drift net ships off washington and carrying their gear away.
    whaling is unnecessary. the japanese have depleted their home waters and range far and wide.
    watsons trust fund babies need some physical training and testosterone.nippon sailors are great mariners and work like oxes 4 centuries

  • Katie

    The Sea Shepherd is a modern day hero. The captain has a point of view and I commend him for that. It’s too bad in todays world where no one has a point of view. Save the Whales!!!

  • shayna

    I personally think that the Japanese vessel hit the Steve Irwin because they were cutting across in front of the Steve Irwin to get the whale in the mother ship. what the Japanese is doing is illegal their not killing whales because of research their killing them because they just want to kill the whales. i think if someone should get arrested it’s the japanese people on those ships they were using the lrad on the steve irwins helicopter you know how dangerous that is the guy flying it would lose control and crash. the japanese whaling were throwing stuff at people. who ever supports the japanese whalers are saying that they don’t care if they kill whales or any other animals that they should be able to kill them I think they should being arrested.

    • Sparhawk

      First, they only aimed it at the helicopter and never turned it on. This was done to warn the helicopter as to not engage. Second, do you really believe they are wasting all their resources, time, and money just because they “want” to kill whales? Unless the Japanese have an evil plan for completely eradicating the whale species from the world, trust me they are not simply killing whales for fun, but because of the demand. Google the uses for whale blubber not to mention the rest of it, you’ll find you are either wearing or eating a product that has been made with whale blubber/fat.

      • vegan and proud

        Well, you might be eating or wearing a whale-based product, but you don’t have to be. (And I am certainly not.) If you believe that we shouldn’t be butchering other sentient beings, driving a number of species into extinction and upsetting the balance of nature in the process, let alone squandering natural resources in obscenely wasteful eating patterns (do a bit of research into carbon issues, land and energy use) then stop causing demand for the end products. You don’t have to be part of the problem. And, let’s face it, whether you like whales or not, if all you do to action your beliefs is natter away in discussions like this, nothing changes.

        If you’re not part of the solution, then you’re part of the problem.

      • wally

        the japanese are liars and prove that they manipulate laws to get what they want. Money! For every whale they kill I hope they are cursed to a severe financial set back for their entire country. You see how they lie with signs on the deck saying that it is science they are after…If they get hurt oh well….remember pearl harbor…they suck and lie and shouldn’t be allowed to get away with what they are doing.

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