On-Board the M/V Arctic Sunrise

Day Thirty-three - 20 December 1999

"On the Line"

We knew Japan’s whaling fleet was illegally hunting whales somewhere in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary and, today after weeks of clandestine searching, we found them. We picked up the Nisshin-maru's shadow on the M/V Arctic Sunrise radar screen in the early hours of the morning.

By 8.15am we had deployed two rigid hull inflatable boats, the "Hurricane" and the "Grey Whale", and were in hot pursuit. The Nisshin-maru began to flee through a field of open sea ice.

The "Grey Whale" hit a chunk of ice during the chase and was forced to head back to the Sunrise but the "Hurricane" pressed on with ship first mate Frank, second mate Daniel, radio assistant Colin and Yasu on board.

Back on the Arctic Sunrise, lead campaigner, John Bowler, radioed the Nisshin Maru to inform them they were in violation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The statement is repeated in Japanese by Namhee, our translator.

The Hurricane caught up with the Nisshin-maru and the crew sighted a catcher boat approaching with another dead whale in tow. The catcher boat has to deliver its kill to the Nisshin-maru before it can resume the hunt. The Hurricane pulled in front of the Nisshin-maru and Frank jumped out of the inflatable and into the path of the oncoming ship. The factory ship was forced to starboard in order to avoid the floating activist. The catcher boat will have to make another approach. The crew of the Hurricane quickly plucked Frank from the frigid water and the boat driver sped toward the stern ramp of the Nisshin-maru.

The Nisshin-maru crew began hauling the whale carcass up the ramp only to find that Frank had again lept from the Hurricane in a last determined attempt to stop the transfer - and, therefore, further illegal whaling. The extreme conditions and the fast upward motion of the whale were just too much and Frank lost his grip on the whale fin within moments. Daniel has skillfully kept the Hurricane at the stern of the Nisshin-maru enabling the other crew to quickly pull Frank to safety.

Meanwhile another Japanese catcher boat has arrived on the scene to deliver their freshly killed whale. But the Arctic Sunrise is close on its heels. Greenpeace crew members are quickly repairing the Grey Whale and the Greenpeace helicopter has taken off with our two camera men inside.

(Click on Image for enlargement)
Facing down fire hoses

The crew on the "Hurricane" had a new plan.

This time Daniel put the "Hurricane" directly between the Nisshin-maru and the catcher boat. The crew of both Japanese ships turned their hoses on the crew of the much smaller Greenpeace boat. The crew of the "Hurricane" was facing the brunt of six high pressure hoses when our helicopter entered the action.

Phil, the pilot, brought the chopper down to hover several meters above the "Hurricane" and between the two ships - making transfer of the whale impossible. The whalers retaliated with their hoses, hitting the cockpit bubble and rotors with streams of salt water. This dangerous act forced Phil to pull back, but by now the Arctic Sunrise was close enough to start launching its smaller inflatables. The whalers conceded this round and the catcher boat pulled away from the factory ship.

Success!

Greenpeace activists do everything they can to non-violently halt an illegal whaling operation. At least for the moment.

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