Sea Shepherd Officially Running Pirate Vessel

Sea Shepherd Officially Running Pirate Vessel

The Japan Whaling Association, which promotes sustainable whaling around the world, today congratulated the Government of Belize for de-registering the Sea Shepherd vessel, Farley Mowat.

JWA President Keiichi Nakajima said it must be the highly-promoted threatening actions by Paul Watson that had led to his vessel being de-registered by Belize. "If there were any doubts about it before, there are none now. Sea Shepherd is officially running a pirate vessel," he said.

"International law says any non-flagged vessel can be boarded for inspection, and in case of any violation or piracy, has to be detained with its crew arrested. If Paul Watson continues with his violent campaign using this vessel, then he'll be risking everything," said Mr Nakajima, who also called on the Government of Japan to ensure everything possible was done to secure the safety of Japanese researchers and crew.

"This is a very responsible move by the Belize Government. Sea Shepherd has many times rammed and sunk vessels before. There are serious concerns over the safety of Japanese crew and researchers in the Antarctic when Sea Shepherd is present," Mr Nakajima said.

"A couple of weeks ago, we found that the UK Government had rejected Sea Shepherd's application to flag the Farley Mowat to the UK. We are now confident that Sea Shepherd cannot register their vessel anywhere since it is clear the world is opposing eco-terrorism."

Mr Nakajima said that the Australian Environment Minister, Ian Campbell, had promised assistance to Sea Shepherd by offering the use of the Australian Antarctic bases in case of emergency. "Maybe that's Paul Watson's best hope now," he said.

ENDS

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