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Japan's whaling fleet
January 7th - Day 40
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Nisshin Maru - factory ship
Built: 1987
Gross Tons: 7,575
Length: 129.6 m
Breadth: 19.4 m
Draft: 7.2 m
Max speed: 17.5 knots (though we have not seen it do more than 15 knots this trip)
Max crew: 110
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Although it has an on board laboratory, as far as we can tell the main function of the factory ship is to process the whales and store the meat in the ship's freezer. The Nisshin Maru also serves as the mother ship of the fleet - resupplying and refuelling the other ships.
While not an icebreaker, we have seen Nisshin Maru push through somewhat dense pack ice.
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Since the last Greenpeace expedition to the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, giant water cannons have been added to the stern.
A bit of Nisshin Maru trivia: This is the fourth Nisshin Maru, but it is not called the Nisshin Maru No.4. In Japanese, the character for the number four is phonetically close to the character for death. For this reason, the number four is considered unlucky (somewhat like 13 in many western cultures), and is not used when naming ships.
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The catchers (whale hunting ships)
Catchers are fast and highly manoeuvrable ships with a grenade tipped harpoon mounted on the bow. They also have an open crows nest from which three boatswains spot for whales.
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Toshi Maru No.25
Built: 1962
Gross Tons: 739
Length: 68.4 m
Breadth: 9.9 m
Draft: 4.8 m
Max Speed: 16 knots
Max crew: 25
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Kyo Maru No.1
Built: 1971
Gross Tons: 812
Length: 69.2 m
Breadth: 10.3 m
Draft: 4.5 m
Max Speed: 18 knots
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Yushin Maru
Built: 1998
Gross Tons: 1,025
Length: 69.6 m
Breadth: 10.4 m
Max Speed: 17 knots
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The sightings vessel (spotter)
The main purpose of the sightings vessel is to look for whales. The fleet seems to use it to scout for good whaling areas.
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Kyoshin Maru No.2
Built: 1987
Gross Tons: 368
Length: 69.5 m
Breadth: 10.8 m
Draft: 4.9 m
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Want help the crew put an end to whaling in the Southern Ocean Sanctuary?
Join the Global Whale Action Team to receive updates and alerts about how you can pitch in.
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