Watson has made no secret of his penchant for high-profile actions in pursuit of a cause. Watson's group has long said these sorts of regulations don't apply to their efforts, because they deem the actions of the Japanese whalers to be illegal and say that they are vigilantes enforcing laws that vested authorities refuse to do. The regulations say that "every vessel directed to keep out of the way of another vessel shall, so far as possible, take early and substantial action to keep well clear." The regulations also say that a powered ship shall keep out of the way of "a vessel restricted in her ability to maneuver" and of a "vessel engaged in fishing." The video below, from just before Christmas, demonstrates some of this activity ( warning: the video is accompanied by blaring techno music.) The Collision Regulations of the International Maritime Organization, issued in 1972 and still in force, would seem to back up the stance that more of the fault lies with the Gil, since it had spent days deliberately approaching and interfering with the operations of the Maru, by darting across its bow, aiming lasers designed to temporarily blind the Japanese mariners, and seeking to foul its propeller with cables. So, as we used to say in the Navy and in the Merchant Marine, the 'law of gross tonnage' trumps all," he wrote. In some cases, he wrote, "a smaller sailing vessel or a manpowered vessel would have the right of way over a larger motorized vessel, except the rules are very clear that smaller vessels, even if they have the right of way by class, must make every effort to avoid putting themselves into situations in which a larger vessel has to yield to them, simply because of the basic hazard and risk of expecting that a larger vessel could see a smaller vessel in time to react. "Under the long established international rules of maritime navigation, the smaller, more agile vessel is expected to remain clear of and not impede the operations or navigation of the larger, less nimble vessel," is how one former mariner put it. To this observer, the video is inconclusive.īut the consensus of experienced mariners and sea captains who have e-mailed me is that, while it's the responsibility of all vessels at sea to take every precaution to avoid a collision, and so to a certain extent there is blame to be spread around, that smaller, more maneuverable boats like the Gil are generally expected to have more responsibility for avoiding collisions, since they can turn faster. Critics of the group have charged that the Gil's actions made a collision unavoidable. Supporters of Watson's Sea Shepherds say the collision was a result of deliberate action by the Maru. There are two videos of the collision, one from the Japanese ship and one from the larger Sea Shepherd ship, the Bob Barker.
Will legal charges stick? What does the video indicate?īut it's far from certain that legal filings will lead anywhere, and legal analysts say a charge of piracy against the Maru, which had been consistently harassed by the smaller Gil, is unlikely to stick. For its part, Japan's Institute for Cetacean Research (ICR), the government-funded body that finances and oversees the country's annual whale hunt, accused Sea Shepherd of "extremist" and illegal behavior. The boat, which had been currently valued at $1.5 million by Watson, sank after its tow line snapped.Įarlier this week, authorities in New Zealand, where the Gil was registered, and in Australia, which has responsibility for search and rescue operations in the area of the Southern Ocean where the collision took place, said they would investigate the incident. The vessel, which was built for $2.5 million under the moniker Earthrace and circled the globe in a world record 60 days, was donated to Sea Shepherd last year. "We filed a complaint for criminal prosecution with our prosecutor, requesting the start of an investigation into what we consider to be a crime - piracy, actually - committing violence on the high seas," Liesbeth Zegveld, a legal adviser for the group, told Reuters.Īlso on Friday, the group announced that it had abandoned efforts to tow the Gil, which had its bow sheered off in the collision, to port. Watson's flagship, the Steve Irwin, is registered. On Friday, Sea Shepherd filed a legal complaint against the Japanese whaling fleet in the Netherlands, where Mr.
Paul Watson and his antiwhaling Sea Shepherd Conservation Society are keeping up the pressure after the collision earlier this week between their high-tech speedboat the Ady Gil and a larger vessel pulling security for a Japanese whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean.
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