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| Down Under |
| Japanese Whalers holding Australian and British man hostage |
| 2008-01-15 |
| * Hostages are an Australian and a Briton * Earlier claim of tying to mast denied * Pair 'immersed in freezing sea water' TWO anti-whaling activists from a protest ship, an Australian and a Briton, are being held hostage aboard a Japanese whaling vessel in an escalation of the whaling wars in the Southern Ocean. Benjamin Potts, 28, of Sydney, and Giles Lane, 35, from Britain, crew members of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society vessel Steve Irwin, boarded the Japanese whaling vessel Yushin Maru No 2 about 5pm (AEDT) yesterday to deliver a plea to stop killing whales. Sea Shepherd Conservation Society international director Jonny Vasic said the two men were tied to a radar mast in freezing conditions for up to three hours after their capture, a claim denied by Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR), which is running the whale hunt. The Japanese catcher ship was one of a fleet of five the Steve Irwin had tracked since January 1 but located in the Southern Ocean yesterday, Mr Vasic said. The men boarded the vessel from a Zodiac boat to hand its captain a letter informing him that the vessel's crew was “illegally killing whales” in the Southern Whale Sanctuary. The letter was drafted by Steve Irwin captain Paul Watson after he tried unsuccessfully to hail the Japanese ship for more than an hour, Mr Vasic said. “When they got on board and delivered the letter they were not allowed to leave,” Mr Vasic said. “The letter basically stated that they (the Japanese crew) were breaking the international conservation law against whaling in the Antarctic sanctuary.” Mr Vasic said the men were tied to a radar mast for up to three hours in icy conditions before they were taken below. “We have a photo that shows that when they were held they were basically strapped by the arms with zip ties and tied with rope around their chests, and then they were held there for several hours in the cold, and then about two-and-a-half to three hours after that they were taken below,” he said. Mr Lane is an engineer aboard the Steve Irwin and Mr Potts is a cook. Mr Vasic said Sea Shepherd had contacted the British High Commission in Australia and the Australian Federal Police (AFP). “We're hoping that the Federal Government and the British Government will step up and do the right thing, which is demand the release of their citizens,” Mr Vasic said. The Japanese ship was still moving and the Steve Irwin was in pursuit, Mr Vasic said. An AFP spokeswoman said a Sea Shepherd spokesman reported the incident about 6pm (AEDT) and it was evaluating the situation. There was no evidence at this stage that the pair had been tied to a radar mast on board that vessel, she said. ICR director-general Minoru Morimoto said the men had not been tied up and were taken to a secure room. “Any accusations that we have tied them up or assaulted them are completely untrue,” Mr Morimoto said. “It is illegal to board another country's vessels on the high seas. As a result, at this stage, they are being held in custody while decisions are made on their future. “The two boarded the Yushin Maru No 2 after they made attempts to entangle the screw (propeller) of the vessel using ropes and throwing bottles of acid onto the decks.” The incident occurred just inside the Australian Antarctic Sanctuary near the intersection of the coordinates 60 degrees south and 77 degrees east, a week's sail southwest of the Australian coast, Mr Vasic said. A spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith said the Federal Government was “investigating the report (of the incident) as a matter of urgency”. Further statements would follow this morning, he said. The encounter came after the Australian Federal Court today outlawed whaling in Australian Antarctic waters in a ruling the government said it would not try to enforce. |
| Posted by:Oztralian |
| #1 Weren't these men just on TV a few days ago - now they're prisoners? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2008-01-15 19:16 |