On-Board the M/V Arctic Sunrise

Day Thirty-four - 21 December 1999

"Rammed"

At 2:16 p.m. today the Greenpeace ship
M/V Arctic Sunrise was rammed by the Nisshin-maru,
the mother ship of Japan's whaling fleet in the Southern
Ocean. Crew member Andrew Davies filled this story
from the Sunrise

We spent the morning making adjustments to the inflatable nicknamed "the Grey Whale." We had to pull it out of the action on Monday because of some mechanical difficulties. These boats require lots of maintenance, especially when you use them on the high seas. While we were at it, we took the opportunity to install a windshield on the inflatable to give the crew a little cover from the whaling fleet's relentless fire hoses.

Once the Grey Whale was ready, we were able to deploy our two fastest inflatables by 1:30. The small maneouverable boats were soon off the stern of the Nisshin-maru ready to shut down the illegal whaling operation. The idea was to stay between the factory ship, and any catcher boats that arrived with whales for butchering and non-violently prevent a transfer. The Arctic Sunrise was close by

The Nisshin-maru then began to overtake the Sunrise on the port side. Soon she was along side us and very close (less than 25 meters). The crew of the Arctic Sunrise maintained its course - as we are obliged to in this situation under International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations.(1)

The 129 metre Nisshin-maru suddenly turned towards our bow and then veered away. Some of the crew saw what was coming and headed for the shelter of the bridge. With a loud crunch, the Nisshin-maru fish-tailed into the Arctic Sunrise near the bow.

Clips from Phil's video camera in the moments immediately preceeding the impact. Note how the stern of the Nisshin-maru swings into the M/V Arctic Sunrise

On-board campaigner John Bowler was on the bridge when the Nisshin-maru hit. "It threw me and I got a good bang. Nothing too serious but like a good punch to the ribs. I know the rest of the crew was definitely jostled around a bit."

During the incident Phil was shooting some video for the folks back home (our camerman and videographer were on the inflatables). On impact, Phil's camera went flying, but his video clearly shows Japan's factory ship over-taking the Arctic Sunrise in an unsafe manner.

Basic navigational law states that "…"...any vessel overtaking any other shall keep out of the way of the vessel being overtaken."(2) These laws are set forth by and any sailor worth his or her salt knows them inside and out. For some reason, the pilot of the Nisshin-maru refused to adhere to universally understood maritime practice.

Given the deliberate nature of this manoeuvre, not to mention yesterday's attack on our helicopter with fire hoses, the obvious conclusion is that the Nisshin-maru deliberately rammed our ship in an attempt to intimidate or disable us.

Intimidation is one thing, but when you are thousands of miles from the nearest safe harbour and the rough seas regularly hover around the freezing point, trying to "brush back" another ship is downright dangerous.

"I doubt that the captain of the Nisshin-maru really thought through the possible consequences of his actions," said Sunrise captain Arne Sorensen. "This behavior was completely irresponsible."

By 2:40 we had managed to get the Nisshin-maru to answer our repeated hails by radio, and at their request, had brought our Japanese translator (Namhee) to the bridge. Arne had Namhee repeat that Greenpeace is a peaceful organization and that we will do nothing to harm or endanger the whalers. When asked, the captain of the Nisshin-maru refused to promise us the same. Meanwhile, Thilo Bode, director of Greenpeace International was preparing a letter of protest to the Institute for Cetacean Research, the Japanese organization that oversees the whaling program.

Today the whaling fleet, which is bankrolled by the Japanese government, showed that they have no more concern for marine navigation laws then they do for the Law of the Sea, which they are violating by whaling in the Southern Ocean Sanctuary. Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt, and the damage to the Arctic Sunrise was all above the waterline.

Inspections continue, but the chief engineer is sure the hull is remains sound. We did not see any real damage to the Nisshin-maru, except maybe a few small dents. Hopefully, everyone over there is OK.

The rest of today will be taken up with repairs to the Arctic Sunrise - although we have no intention of letting the whaling fleet escape. The Arctic Sunrise is a tough ship with a good crew. Today's incident has done nothing to damage our resolve. On the contrary, we are more determined than ever to stop Japan's illegal whaling program. And come tomorrow that is exactly what we are going to do.