The Esperanza (foreground) and the Japanese whaling ship Nisshin Maru, disabled by a recent fire.
The Esperanza had arrived at the location in the Ross Sea at
about 07.00 (New Zealand daylight time) today. Two ships - the
re-supply and re-fuelling vessel Oriental Bluebird and one of the
harpoon, or catcher boats - were tied either side of the Nisshin
Maru. Nearby were two more catcher boats.
Shortly after the Esperanza arrived, a US Coast Guard
icebreaker, the Polar Sea appeared. They said they were also here
to assess the situation. The Yushin Maru then asked our campaigner
from Japan,
Sakyo to help translate between the two.
Weather conditions
When we arrived the weather conditions around the ships was
quite good, with calm seas and clear visibility, but several
icebergs and loose ice nearby. But the weather forecasts indicate
that might well change over the next couple of days. Over the
course of the day we saw once again how quickly conditions can
change here. The sunny morning turned into a cloudy snowy midday
and then once more into sunshine in the afternoon, but with
considerably more ice around.
First contact
When we first arrived, Sakyo radioed the Nisshin Maru, but
received no answer. He then radioed the catcher boat, the Yushin
Maru and repeated the assurance that the Esperanza had come to
help. They responded, asking us to standby and requesting that we
assess the ice conditions.
The Esperanza's helicopter made an initial aerial assessment of
the situation. After flying over the Nisshin Maru, it looked fairly
normal, with no sign of fire on the decks, or any sign of damaged
equipment. There was a lot of power cabling and ropes slung between
the catcher boat and the Nisshin Maru. The ship's decks were white
with snow and approximately 12 people were visible on the
deck.
Offer of help
Yesterday we offered to tow the Nisshin Maru north, in order to
assist and ensure there was no further threat to the environment
from the disabled vessel. The Fisheries Agency of Japan responded
by calling us "terrorists" an unhelpful response, given the
potential for further risk and danger in this already serious
humanitarian and environmental situation in depths of the Ross
Sea.
Right now, the Nisshin Maru is secured - to two other ships,
which takes care of short-term difficulties. It's been reported
that one of them, the Oriental Bluebird, could tow the Nisshin
Maru. However, Frank Kamp, the Esperanza's captain, says that the
Oriental Bluebird clearly isn't the best option - and he has ten
years experience on salvage vessels. The Oriental Bluebird is too
big and too difficult to manoeuvre should more problems arise. As
it stands, we're still the best option should the Nisshin Maru need
to be towed out of the Ross Sea, so we'll wait nearby to see what
happens in the coming hours and days.
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark == and beyond
Elsewhere
in the world, other pro-whaling nations have been getting
themselves into trouble. While at the so-called "normalisation"
(commercialisation of whaling) meeting in Tokyo, Danish IWC
commissioner Ole Samsing suggested excluding both media and NGOs
from future International Whaling Commission (IWC) meetings. (See
Ocean Campaigner Shane Rattenbury's
blog for more.)
We responded, questioning whether or not we had misunderstood Mr
Samsing. The media seems to have seized upon this, and asked Mr
Samsing for clarification. He repeated his suggestions to the
journalists, which has caused a scandal in Denmark, where the
foreign minister will now have to explain Denmark's position in the
IWC in parliament, where he is sure to be grilled by the
environmental committee.
Nicaragua scandal
Meanwhile, in Nicaragua, another whaling scandal has broken out.
Two newspapers have published articles on a scandal involving a Mr
Marenco, who was at the "normalisation" representing Nicaragua. The
thing is, Mr Marenco used to be the IWC commissioner, during a
former, highly corrupt government. He wasn't in Tokyo as an
official representative of Nicaragua at all - his bosses at the
ministry thought that he had left on holidays!
Finally some news from the good guys in whaling:, the
environment minister of Costa Rica, which is a pro-conservation
country, has announced that the country will be voting at the IWC
meeting in Anchorage, Alaska in May. Costa Rica had been having
some problems reconciling debts with the IWC, but has managed to
clear these debts though local private entities. Welcome back,
Costa Rica!
Esperanza weblog
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