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Japanese whaling fleet catcher ship Kyo Maru No.1 heads towards the Greenpeace ship Esperanza in the Southern Ocean.
Enlarge ImageUpdate: On 08 January 2006, the whalers rammed our ship the Arctic Sunrise.
Read all the details here.
Frank Kamp, the captain of the Esperanza said: “Regarding the Kyo-maru, the catcher hit the Esperanza. The Esperanza was on the steady course behind the Nisshin Maru. The Kyo Maru approached the Esperanza from the stern on the port side. The Kyo Maru was obliged by International Collision legislation to give way to the Esperanza, as they came from behind. They came close then moved toward us and made contact on our port side. We have kept steady course the whole time. The Esperanza suffered no damage.”
In a similar incident in 1999, (oddly on exactly the same day, December 21st) the same tactic was attempted by the whalers. To this day, Lloyds List, which is the definitive resource on maritime incidents, puts the blame squarely on the Japanese whaling vessel.
Greenpeace puts the utmost emphasis on safety. Our crew are thoroughly trained and equipped to ensure the safe operations under dangerous conditions.
The same whalers who call their whaling programme "scientific research" (despite the fact that the International Whaling Commission has termed the programme scientifically useless) want you to believe that Greenpeace is reckless.
But there's rhetoric, and there's reality.
We had our helicopter team in the air capturing the actions on video when the collisions occurred. You can view the video here, and judge for yourself (29 meg)
Read the response to the ICR letter from Greenpeace Japan.
