Sea Shepherd crew confident as ship battered

MICHAEL DALY

Anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd’s scout vessel Brigitte Bardot has a widening crack in its hull and is being pounded by heavy seas about 2400km southwest of Fremantle.

Its South African captain Jonathan Miles Renecle was confident the ship, which has a 10-member crew, would stay afloat until it was reached by Sea Shepherd flagship Steve Irwin.

Captain Paul Watson, on board the Steve Irwin, said his ship was fighting heavy seas and was expected to take 20 hours to reach the distressed vessel, about 390km to the southeast.

The 35-metre Brigitte Bardot, an advanced design monohull vessel with twin outer pontoons, had been pursuing

Japanese factory ship Nisshin Maru in six-metre swells. A rogue wave slammed into the Brigitte Bardot’s port side, cracking the hull and severely damaging one of its pontoons.

“The crack has been getting wider as the seas continue to pound the vessel,” Sea Shepherd said.

The Steve Irwin would first see to the safety of the Brigitte Bardot crew, then escort the vessel to Fremantle for repairs.

“This is disappointing, but these are hostile seas and we have always been prepared for situations like this,” Watson said.

Sea Shepherd ship Bob Barker would continue to pursue the whaling fleet.

Sea Shepherd activists, including New Zealanders, have been pursuing a fleet of three harpoon boats, a  refuelling ship, and one or two security ships as they head towards Antarctica.

Aerial surveillance of the Japanese whaling fleet showed beefed-up security, including men in paramilitary uniforms, as well as anti-boarding nets and spikes.

The goal of the three Sea Shepherd ships – carrying 88 people from 25 countries, including “quite a few” New Zealanders – had been to try to block the loading of the whaling ships.

– © Fairfax NZ News