We Will Not Back Down by Captain Paul Watson and More

The sinking of the Adi Gil by the Shonan Maru No2 can be viewed in stills and video here. *

I have witnessed the incident described by Paul Watson in the documentary Sharkwater and yes, the two vessels had a coming together, and as always collisions at see should be avoided at all costs, the coming together of the shark-finning boat and Sea Shepherd's vessel Ocean Warrior, was just that, a coming together. Particularly when compared to the deliberate ramming of the Adi Gil by the Japanese harpoon vessel, Shonan Maru #2

* The full post and a clip of the incident in question, now below main body text.

We Will Not Back Down
Commentary by Captain Paul Watson
August 28, 2012

The one thing that I have been most proud of in my long career is the fact that after 35 years of interventions to defend marine life we have not caused a single injury to any person nor after some 350 voyages have I had any of my crew seriously injured. I am also proud of the fact that although we have been aggressively intervening against illegal whalers, sealers, dolphin killers, drift netters, trawlers, turtle killers and other ocean life-destroying enterprises, we have always done so within the boundaries of the law.

We have launched and carried out eight campaigns to oppose the Japanese whalers arrogantly operating in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. We have not caused a single injury to any of them nor have we caused any damage to their ships. The whalers on the other hand have shot at us, rammed our ships and completely destroyed one of them without any legal consequences whatsoever. What we have done is to cripple them financially by blocking their ability to kill whales and the achievement that I am most proud of is that due to our interventions some 4,000 whales would now be dead if not for the courageous efforts of my incredible crews.

Our objective from the beginning of the campaign was to sink the Japanese whaling fleet economically. We have achieved that. We have bankrupted them and driven them into debt; and the whaling fleet, weaker now than ever, only survives due to massive subsidies from the Japanese government.

I have never been under any delusion that taking on one of the world’s great economic superpowers would not have consequences for us, especially since we have so humiliated the whalers at sea, outmaneuvering them and chasing them out of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary with their kill quotas denied and their profits wiped out.

And of course the two events that could not be anticipated in our overall strategy have caused us the most problems.

The first is the Japanese tsunami.

Of the hundreds of millions of dollars contributed from around the world to the victims of that disaster, an allocation of some $30 million dollars was given to the whalers to fight Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. That is certainly not what the people who sent donations ever imagined that their contributions would be spent on. Rebuilding houses, food, medicine, repairing the infrastructure yes, but to subsidize the operations of the whalers to continue killing whales in a sanctuary – who could have foreseen such a betrayal of trust?

With that money the whalers have hired public relations firms, increased security, and initiated lawsuits. However, the increased security on their fleet failed to prevent Sea Shepherd from once again intervening and as a result the whalers took only some 26% of their intended kill and once again lost all possible profits, sinking even deeper into debt.

The filing for an injunction against Sea Shepherd in the United States courts also failed when the U.S. Judge denied their request for a preliminary injunction and although they are appealing the decision, their chances for success are slim.

They are forcing Sea Shepherd to expend funds on legal fees but such expenses are all part of the overall battle plan and our success at sea is bringing in more and more support, allowing us to continue our fight against their poaching activities both on the water and now in the court.

The tsunami funds have also been used to find strategies to defeat us and one of them was to track down a decade-old incident off Guatemala where we had intervened against an illegal Costa Rican shark-finning operation with permission of the Guatemalan government. The charges had been dismissed back then after the Costa Rican court reviewed our documentation, and the incident has been viewed by hundreds of thousands of people in the award-winning documentary film, Sharkwater. But with a little persuasion from Japan, Costa Rica decided to resurrect the incident with a charge that we had sprayed water onto the shark-finning boat causing them to lose control and to collide with my ship. Even so there were no injuries and their vessel was not damaged. Hardly an extraditable offense.

When first filed with Interpol by Costa Rica, the request was denied. But when I landed in Germany on May 13th, the Germans decided to act on the request despite the dismissal and detained me. My suspicions right from the beginning were that this was a Japanese initiative and once Japan saw that Germany was willing to act on a bilateral basis with Costa Rica they approached Germany with their request for extradition.
When a reliable source within the German Ministry of Justice tipped me off that the Germans would arrest me the next morning when I reported to the Frankfurt police I knew that once sent to Japan, I would not be leaving for a very long time. Thus I made the decision to depart Germany.

I was also sent a copy of the Japanese request by this German source, and the entire case by Japan is based upon accusations against me by Peter Bethune.

This was the second unforeseen incident.

During Operation Waltzing Matilda (2009-2010), the Ady Gil, skippered by Pete Bethune, was deliberately rammed and sliced in half by the Shonan Maru No. 2. Pete Bethune decided to board the Shonan Maru No. 2 to confront the Japanese captain. In one of the episodes of Whale Wars, I advise Bethune not to board the vessel. His reply was that it was what he needed to do, it was his ship and he had the right to demand that the Japanese captain answer for the destruction of the boat. Bethune said he would take complete responsibility for his actions and thus he boarded the vessel with his own Jet Ski and assisted by his own crewmember.

Bethune was taken to Japan and instead of taking full responsibility for the decision he made, he accused me of ordering him to board the Shonan Maru No. 2. This was a deal he made with the prosecutor in return for a suspended sentence. Our legal team has documented evidence of this deal.

My critics can say what they like but I think that any objective review of the facts within the context of our history will show that these demands for my extradition are politically motivated and not based on a proper legal investigation. Everything that happened during the Costa Rican incident was documented by independent filmmaker Rob Stewart for the making of the film, Sharkwater. Everything that has occurred with reference to Japanese whaling operations in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary was documented for the Animal Planet program Whale Wars and in the film, At the Edge of the World. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society operates overtly and above board. Everything we do is documented.

For those critics who say that I should therefore submit myself to Costa Rica or Japan if I have nothing to hide I can only say that would be an option if allowed the opportunity for a fair and impartial trial. I do not believe that either country would give me a fair and impartial trial and even if acquitted by a Costa Rican court, they would then turn me over to Japan. Japan is not seeking justice, they are seeking revenge.

What we have here is a Japanese captain having completely destroyed a 1.5 million dollar vessel, injuring a cameraman and almost killing six crewmembers. The crew was recruited by Pete Bethune to help man his vessel, the Ady Gil, and were not Sea Shepherd crewmembers, but Sea Shepherd still worked with them to try to stop the Japanese whalers and Sea Shepherd rescued them when their ship was rammed and destroyed. Note that Pete Bethune was not a Sea Shepherd Captain either. In fact, I have no doubt that had a Sea Shepherd Captain been in command of the Ady Gil that day, the collision would have been prevented altogether. But that was not the case and the collision occurred, yet the Captain of the Shonan Maru No. 2 has not even been subjected to questioning over this incident. This in contrast to charges against me that do not even involve activities by myself based solely on the accusations of a man who made a deal with the Japanese in return for a suspended sentence.

With regard to Costa Rica, the courts have seen the evidence and questioned me and the witnesses and gave me a clearance to depart Costa Rica in 2002 (see scan of clearance documentation) and then revived the charges a decade later at the same time that a meeting took place between President Chinchilla of Costa Rica and the Prime Minister of Japan.

Click here to view the 2002 Ship’s Log Citing Clearance for Departure from Costa Rica (PDF)

Other incidents by Japan have also not been investigated including the ramming of the Bob Barker by one of the harpoon vessels, and the collisions with the harpoon vessels and the Steve Irwin when the whalers attempted to force the Sea Shepherd vessel away from blocking the stern slipway of the Nisshin Maru.

For myself, I have to weigh the best course of action within the context of our overall strategy to defend and protect the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. If I surrender myself to Japan and/or Costa Rica I will not be in a direct command position to intervene against the Japanese whale poachers in Antarctic waters. I can coordinate the campaign from a land base or from onboard ship but it will not be possible to do so as a prisoner of the Japanese. Operation Zero Tolerance must be my primary concern and it is towards launching that campaign that I have decided to dedicate myself. If detained prior to the launch, the campaign will proceed under the directions given through the campaign chain of command. After the campaign if the legal issues remain outstanding I will address them directly at a time of my choosing with guidance from our legal team.

Another bit of misinformation is that I am fugitive from justice. I am not, and it is not a crime for anyone to work with or assist me. It is a complicated case, but I am not wanted outside of Japan, Costa Rica and Germany. There is no arrest warrant for me outside of these three countries and with regard to Germany, I have not broken any German law. Skipping bail is not a crime in Germany independent of the charge that was the cause of my being detained.

Presently I am in a place where I cannot be touched by the Interpol “red” notice and our legal team is working on exposing the local warrants from Costa Rica and Japan as being politically motivated with the objective of having Interpol disregard them. I believe that any impartial review of the evidence will exonerate me and it is best to have this evidence reviewed with impartiality rather than to throw myself at the mercy of courts where the verdict has already been determined.

From the beginning of this campaign to oppose the Japanese whale poachers in the Southern Ocean I was well aware that there were extreme risks involved. In addition to operating in the most hostile marine environment on the planet we were also aware that we were engaging one of the world’s wealthiest and most powerful nations.
Despite this, every year we have gotten stronger and the whaling fleet has become weaker. And most importantly our efforts to defend the whales, to save their lives has increased dramatically to the point where the Japanese have failed for two years in a row to kill more than 70% of their no longer defenseless victims.

And thus we come down to the showdown and the reason we call this Operation Zero Tolerance. Our goal this year is to achieve zero kills and we will do all within our power to make that goal a reality. It is expected that the Japanese will do whatever they can to stop us and one of their tactics is to eliminate me as the leader of this campaign. They may or may not do so but either way they cannot stop the passion of my officers and crew who will stand with me or who will stand if need be, without me. But stand they will and our ships will once more engage these ruthless killers on the high seas to shield the gentle giants from their merciless harpoons.

If I am captured and politically crucified before this campaign all I can say is that this has always been for me a possibility and the Japanese will find that I am not as meek and unprepared as their previous prisoner. The loss of my personal freedom or even my life will be a fair price for achieving the objective of realizing the security of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. And with or without me that goal will be realized because we have something the Japanese whalers will never have. That is an absolute passionate respect for life and for maintaining the integrity of the Sanctuary. They are motivated by greed. We are motivated by love, and love and respect for life will always triumph over greed and death.

To all of our supporters worldwide – thank you. Your support gives us the means to go forth, where we need to go to fight this battle. Thank you also to our crew of Cove Guardians who have begun their six months in Taiji, Japan to defend the dolphins. Thank you to our crew in Africa defending the seals, to our crew in the Galapagos defending those enchanted isles, to our crew in the Mediterranean defending the endangered Bluefin tuna, our crews in the South Pacific defending sharks and coral reefs and to all those Sea Shepherd warriors initiating fundraising, public awareness and activist campaigns for oceanic species worldwide.

I am honored to work with each and every one of you. Together we are a force that has demonstrated and will continue to demonstrate that we can make a difference, and that no matter what the obstacles or how impossible the mission, we will not back down. Martin Sheen once told me that when someone accused him of supporting a lost cause that “lost causes are the only causes worth fighting for.” Martin, myself, and all of our crew are united in this belief that the impossible can become possible. And it is the passion, courage, imagination and resourcefulness of my incredible crew that will win this fight for the whales and for the oceans.

I’m proud of them all and most honored to have served this cause to protect our oceans, for the one most basic of truths is this: If the oceans die, we die! It is as simple as that and, thus, to me, there is no cause more important. SSCS

~ ~ ~

Ocean Warrior collision with shark-finning vessel.






But If On Your Starboard Red Should Appear 'Tis Your Duty To Keep Clear
8 February 2011

A simple mnemonic ditty to aid in safety at sea regarding the rule of the road.

If, to your STARBOARD, RED appear
It is your duty to keep clear;
To act as judgement says is proper,
To starboard - or port - back - or stop her.
But when, upon your PORT, is seen
A steamer's starboard light of GREEN,
There's not so much for you to do,
For Green to Port keeps clear of you.

And just to fix it in your mind's eye, nothing better than a graphic, and, the reason I blog in the style that I do. And please I beg you, don't think I'm treating you like an idiot on this, there are vessels enough that have come to grief due to panic and an inexperienced helmsman not knowing his Port from his Madeira.

Port has less letters than Starboard as does Left have less letters than Right.

Right Kiddiywinks, with this in mind, what shall we have first? Stills I think.

These are screen shots by the way, the originals were simply enormous. (Link further down the page.)













Yes I know, confusing isn't it? That must be the reason the Chilcot Enquiry Maritime New Zealand's investigation had this to say about the incident.

We have considered a significant amount of information in the course of our investigation. This has included the review of more than 24 hours of video footage, witness interviews, and a huge array of technical data from both vessels.

The report finds there is no evidence either master deliberately caused the collision – but that both were responsible for contributing to, and failing to respond appropriately to, the “close quarters” situation that led to the accident. more and link to big pics.

h/t imaufo

Pual Watson on Democracy Now

Captain Paul Watson is presently released from a German court on a quarter of a million dollars bond.

As hard as it might be to comprehend, fifty million sharks, valued in the billions of dollars, are taken annually by the shark finning industry.

Little wonder that Paul Watson and Sea Shepherd Conservation society have enemies. And let us not forget the Japanese, you can bet the farm that they will be up to their necks in this transparent piece of political chicanery.

Captain Paul Watson, founder of the anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd, has been released on bail in Germany following his arrest for possible extradition to Costa Rica on decade-old charges stemming from a confrontation with shark fin poachers. Sea Shepherd continues to maintain that Watson’s arrest was politically motivated and is calling on its supporters to come together in a day of action on Wednesday when the Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla visits Germany. Watson joins us from Frankfurt. “We’ve never injured anybody,” Watson says. “The most powerful weapon in the world as far as I’m concerned is the camera, so we go into battle armed with cameras...Right now 19 million sharks a year are being destroyed to feed the shark fin industry in Asia. And that means the fins are cut off of these animals and they’re thrown back into the ocean, and this is what we filmed off of Guatemala and this is what we intervened against — a highly illegal operation.” [Transcript to come. Check back soon.]

See what a shark finning operation looks like here.

Radioactive or Not Tsunami Debris Could Seriously Impact US & Canada West Coasts

Radioactive or Not, Tsunami Debris Could Seriously Impact US's, Canada's West Coasts
by Jon Letman
20 February 2012

Pacific coastal communities prepare for possible impacts of marine debris from Japan's triple disaster.

In the age of constant crisis coverage, it is easy to forget that disasters don't just end once the cameras move on. On the contrary, they morph into new situations, sometimes improved, but often more complex and severe. In the case of Japan's earthquake-tsunami-nuclear catastrophe, part of that tripartite disaster floated out to sea as debris where it has been drifting for months to destinations unknown.

According to Japan's Ministry of Environment's Waste Management Division, the 9.0 magnitude temblor and tsunami generated some 25 million tons of debris in total, literally sucking the lives of thousands of people and their belongings out to sea. Since last March, the remains of destroyed buildings, vehicles, broken furniture, fishing boats, nets and miscellaneous flotsam has been adrift in the north Pacific vastness. But how much was pulled into the ocean and where it will end up, no one can really say for sure.

Scientists and experts in Canada and the United States and, in particular, the Hawaiian islands, recognizing the potential for a fourth leg to Japan's triple disaster, are trying to forecast a possible debris path as they prepare for what could be headed their way.

One scientist closely monitoring the situation is Dr. Nikolai Maximenko, a senior researcher at the University of Hawaii's International Pacific Research Center in Honolulu. Speaking at a conference on the Hawaiian island of Kauai in December, Maximenko said that one-third to one-quarter of the total debris may have been pulled out to sea by the tsunami. But what first appeared as dense, yellow floating masses of broken lumber was quickly overshadowed by a more immediate human and environmental disaster unfolding on land.

Maximenko and other scientists in Hawaii are using diagnostic computer models in an attempt to accurately predict the likely path of debris. In June 2011, sailors traveling between Yokohama and Alaska sighted suspected tsunami-generated detritus. They described navigating two days across a field of "unusual debris," including they said looked like "file cabinets, lumber, freezer chests and large pieces of Styrofoam."

In another significant sighting last September, the Russian sailing ship STS Pallada reported passing through debris some 400 miles west of Midway atoll while on its way from Hawaii to the Vladivostok. The Russian crew spotted an unoccupied Japanese fishing boat (later confirmed to be registered in Fukushima Prefecture) as well as televisions, bottles, boots, wash basins and doors.

Coming to a Beach Near You much more

Previous with photos Tsunami Debris Floats Towards US West Coast

Bullfighter Jose Padilla - Twat

I suppose it must have been playing on my mind, after all, a comment left on a blog defending bullfighting, is a pretty rare thing. In fact I would go as far as to say it's unique; where it concerns bullfighter, Juan Jose Padilla it is. Consequently, and as much on auto-pilot as anything else, I set to first thing this morning and knocked these few pics out.

Every comment on every post that I have read, concerning Padilla getting his, has. as you may well imagine, been a tad short in sympathy department. The sentiments more in keeping with my first graphic in this little gallery, which of course is my own core sentiment.

O fucking le, you twat.

Happy New Year Sea Shepherds Everywhere

Click again when opened.

Sea Shepherd’s Aerial Drone Revealed

Some additional information about the drones used by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has come to light. The sUAS (Small Unmanned Aviation Systems) were deployed last week and successfully discovered the Japanese whaling fleet more than 1,000 miles north of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.

The technology, not unlike the larger military drones used by American forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, is considered a major advantage for the conservation org; which in the past has relied upon a mix of guesswork, experience, and outside assistance to locate the whalers. more missouri-news.info

Yes Teddy I Know, Greenpeace Are Such Wankers

Greenpeace Should Address Its Own Disgraceful Behavior
December 12, 2011

Junichi Sato, Executive Director of Greenpeace Japan, has publicly condemned Sea Shepherd Conservation Society for accusing the Japanese whaling industry of using funds, earmarked for the Tsunami Earthquake Relief Fund, to provide security for its fleet.




A few days before, Greenpeace claimed credit for exposing the scandal that relief money was being utilized for the support of the whaling fleet. Sato made the following statement: "Not only is the whaling industry unable to survive without large increases in government handouts, now it's siphoning money away from the victims of the March 11 triple disaster — at a time when they need it most. This is a new low for the shameful whaling industry and the callous politicians who support it."

In response to Japan’s suspect claims that the money came from taxes and not from the relief fund (contradicting the Japanese Fishery Agency release that the funds indeed came from the relief fund), Sato, forgetting his earlier statement, decided to use the opportunity to discredit Sea Shepherd. According to Sato, Captain Paul Watson said on Sky TV that it was "really disgraceful" that the money had come from "people all over the world" who never dreamed how it would be used.




Sato called that claim irresponsible and stated that Watson is not doing conservationists any favors by misrepresenting the truth. Sato claims, "Its about the credibility of the whole anti-whaling movement."

We know some $30 million has been allocated from the Tsunami Earthquake Relief Fund, as stated by the Japanese Fishery Agency, with the justification that rebuilding the whaling industry is a legitimate use of such funds. Now the Japanese government is backtracking, claiming the funds came from taxes. Either way, the question must be asked: when people are homeless because of the disaster, why is $30 million being given to the whaling industry to defend their illegal whaling operation in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary? Either the Department of Foreign Affairs is lying or the Japanese Fishery Agency is lying.

Captain Paul Watson believes that it is irresponsible for Greenpeace Japan to use the contradictory messages from the Japanese government to smear Sea Shepherd.



“Sato should look to his own organization when it comes to questioning credibility over this issue. They raise some $40 million dollars a year on their anti-whaling campaigns and all they do is produce mail-outs asking for funds. They have not sent a ship to the Southern Ocean to hang banners for years. The Japanese whaling fleet will pass right by the Greenpeace ship Esperanza, now in Palau, and Greenpeace will not confront them. This is also a disgrace. The raising of money from the public to pretend to be saving whales and at the same time attacking the only organization that has saved whales in the Southern Ocean,” said Captain Watson. “I have asked Greenpeace to join us in a common cause to oppose the whaling fleet and they have refused. I have no idea what they do with the millions of dollars they raise to save whales but I do know the funds are not used for saving whales. As for credibility, Sea Shepherd saved 863 whales last year from the harpoons and Greenpeace saved none. That is the only credibility which we are concerned with.” Sea Shepherd.org

Arnie Gunderson Discusses China Syndrome & The Impact of Fukushima on World's Oceans

I can't give you a review of the effect on the oceans video just yet, it's an hour long and I'm just now about to watch it myself. Later then.

Fukushima - Could it Have a China Syndrome? from Fairewinds Associates on Vimeo.

Fairewinds' chief engineer Arnie Gundersen discusses whether the accidents at Fukushima were a meltdown, a melt-through, or a China Syndrome. Whatever the accidents are named, thousands of tons of water contaminated with plutonium, uranium, and other very toxic radioactive isotopes are flooding the site, the surrounding water table, and the ocean.

Gundersen on EcoReview: Fukushima's Impact on the Oceans from Fairewinds Associates on Vimeo.

Arnie Gundersen appears on EcoReview to speak about the impact that the Fukushima nuclear disaster will have on the world's oceans. Fairewinds

Japanese Security Boats Shadow Sea Shepherd Fleet

Japanese security boats shadow anti-whaling ship
Jane Hammond
December 27, 2011

Two Japanese security vessels with uniformed guards were tailing anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd's flagship, Steve Irwin, last night as it headed towards the Southern Ocean whale sanctuary.

The Steve Irwin is closing in on the whaling fleet's factory vessel Nisshin Maru as the groups head south for the start of this year's battle over Japan's plan to kill more than 900 whales.

Sea Shepherd used high-tech drones to find the whalers on Christmas Day and expects to catch up with the Nisshin Maru by New Year's Eve.

The anti-whaling group plans to block the factory ship's slipway to prevent any dead whales being dragged aboard and flensed.




Steve Irwin captain Paul Watson said yesterday he was surprised by the military-style bunkers on the decks of the vessels and extent of the whaling fleet's security.

"There seem to be a lot of changes on the Shonan Maru 2 this year, with armed security personnel and they seem to have a bunker-type thing on the top of their ship with sandbags," Capt. Watson said.

"I don't know if they are expecting us to attack them with weapons or something. They seem awfully paranoid.

"We are just there to stop them killing whales but we are doing everything we can to make sure we don't hurt these people."

Capt. Watson said rancid butter bombs were the worst thing the conservationists would be using against the whalers this year.

Late yesterday, the Steve Irwin was about 50 nautical miles behind the factory ship while the two security vessels were sitting about seven nautical miles off the Steve Irwin's stern.

Sea Shepherd's other two ships, the high-speed Brigitte Bardot and the Bob Barker, were not being tailed by the Japanese.
Twenty Australians are among the Sea Shepherd's crew of 88, including five West Australians. The West.com.au

Sea Shepherd Intercepts the Japanese Whaling Fleet with Drones

Oh I do like your style boys, drones indeed. Drive on!

And fair play to Bayshore Recycling Corp (BRC) and Moran Office of Maritime and Port Security (MOMPS) for making this possible. Good on you.

Sea Shepherd Intercepts the Japanese Whaling Fleet with Drones

Japanese Security Ships Move In On the Steve Irwin
December 24, 2011


The Sea Shepherd crew has intercepted the Japanese whaling fleet on Christmas Day, a thousand miles north of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.

The Sea Shepherd ship, Steve Irwin, deployed a drone to successfully locate and photograph the Japanese factory ship Nisshin Maru on December 24th. Once the pursuit began, three Japanese harpoon/security ships moved in on the Steve Irwin to shield the Nisshin Maru to allow it to escape.

This time however the Japanese tactic of tailing the Steve Irwin and the Bob Barker will not work because the drones, one on the Steve Irwin and the other on the Bob Barker, can track and follow the Nisshin Maru and can relay the positions back to the Sea Shepherd ships.

“We can cover hundreds of miles with these drones and they have proven to be valuable assets for this campaign,” said Captain Paul Watson on board the Steve Irwin.

The drone named Nicole Montecalvo was donated to the Steve Irwin by Bayshore Recycling of New Jersey, and Moran Office of Maritime and Port Security, also of New Jersey.

Captain Watson having received reports from fishermen when the Japanese ship passed through the Lombok Strait waited south of the strait at a distance of 500 miles off the southwest coast of Western Australia. Sea Shepherd caught the whalers at 37 degrees South, far above the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. More and photo's.