Sea Shep and friends board Japanese security vessel in Australian costal waters. - Polidicks

[b]UPDATE[/b] [release][b]Three anti-whaling activists who boarded a Japanese ship will be handed over to an Australian customs ship, Australian leader Julia Gillard said.[/b] The men from the Forest Rescue Australia group could have faced charges under Japanese law. They boarded the Shonan Maru No 2 early on Sunday, about 26km (16 miles) off the west coast of Australia. [b]"We thank the Japanese government for their cooperation in this matter," Ms Gillard said[/b] through a spokesman. However, she warned, [b]it should not be assumed that ''individuals will not be charged and convicted in the future''.[/b] "Activity of the nature undertaken by these three Australians is unacceptable,'' she added in a statement. The men, all from Western Australia, were named as Geoffrey Owen Tuxworth, 47, Simon Peterffy, 44, and Glen Pendlebury, 27. The Australian customs ship has left port, but it could take ''several days'' to reach the Shonan Maru at sea, depending on the weather, Ms Gillard said. Forest Rescue said in a statement that the trio boarded the vessel to prevent it from tailing a ship belonging to anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd. That ship, the Steve Irwin, was on its way back to the Southern Ocean, where Japanese whaling ships hunt at this time of the year, after escorting a damaged vessel back to Australia. The Shonan Maru was thought to be watching the anti-whaling vessels to help the Japanese fleet avoid protesters. Court action 'best way' There has been a ban on commercial whaling for 25 years, but Japan catches about 1,000 whales each year in what it says is a scientific research programme. Critics say it is commercial whaling in another guise. Australia is a strong opponent of whaling. [b]Last year, it filed a complaint against Japan's whaling activities in the Southern Ocean at the international court in The Hague aimed at ending the practice. A decision could be announced next year.[/b] [b]"The best way to stop whaling once and for all is through our court action," Ms Gillard added.[/b] This is not the first time activists have boarded Japanese whaling ships. In 2010 New Zealander Pete Bethune boarded a ship which subsequently took him to Japan. He spent five months in jail after receiving a two-year suspended sentence and was later deported. In 2008 Australian Benjamin Potts and another activist were handed over to an Australian customs ship after they boarded a Japanese ship in the Southern Ocean.[/release] [url]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16480765[/url] [b]Whaler ignores call to leave Australian waters[/b] [release]A JAPANESE whaling ship has defied high-level Australian complaints to stay in the waters of World Heritage-listed Macquarie Island. The harpoon-equipped whale hunter Yushin Maru No.3 was still there late yesterday, hours after the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, said the ship was leaving. [b]''I'm aware that there has been one vessel which I'm advised has been in Australian territorial waters and I'll advise that it will leave Australian territorial waters,'' Ms Gillard said.[/b] [b]The Australian embassy told the Japanese government on Tuesday that whaling vessels were not welcome in the country's waters, repeating earlier complaints.[/b] But the Japanese ship was photographed yesterday within a few miles of the coast of Macquarie Island, which is part of the state of Tasmania. The Sea Shepherd anti-whaling group said the harpoon ship continued trailing its vessel, Bob Barker, [b]inside the 12-nautical-mile territorial limit all day.[/b] ''Things seem to be reaching a boiling point here,'' the Bob Barker's first mate, Peter Hammarstedt, said. ''It has followed us on circuits of the island, keeping right inside the 12-mile zone.'' The Bob Barker sought refuge at Macquarie Island to try to shake the ship off its stern. As long as some Japanese vessels are able to keep tabs on Sea Shepherd activists, the rest of the fleet can continue whaling. ANU professor of international law Don Rothwell said if Yushin Maru No.3 was staying close to Macquarie Island [b]it was violating the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea which would normally allow a ship to proceed though these waters.[/b] ''The actions of Yushin Maru No.3 are not consistent with the right of innocent passage,'' Professor Rothwell said. [b]The Greens leader, Bob Brown, said the ship's presence was illegal and called for a naval vessel to be sent there.[/b] [/release] [url]http://www.peninsulaweekly.com.au/news/national/national/general/whaler-ignores-call-to-leave-australian-waters/2417470.aspx[/url] [img]http://i.imgur.com/2qzlm.jpg[/img] [i]Unwelcome visitor … the Yushin Maru No.3 stayed just off the coast of Macquarie Island yesterday.[/i] Oh hey, now they're outright breaking Australian law. [b]UPDATE[/b] [img]http://i.imgur.com/8PpHL.jpg[/img] [release][b]Ms Roxon said the federal government was doing all it could to assist the men, who were being detained on the whaling escort vessel Shonan Maru II, but it was likely they would be dealt with under Japanese law.[/b] [b]"If people do take action - take the law into their own hands - the rules that apply are sometimes ones that you can't as a government change. There will be consequences and in this case it is very unlikely that Australian law will apply,"[/b] Roxon told Australian public broadcaster the ABC. [b]"We are doing all we can diplomatically to ensure that these three Australian men can be released quickly and properly and to make sure that they are being held in conditions that are appropriate."[/b] The West Australian men - Geoff Tuxworth, 47, Simon Peterffy, 44, and Glen Pendlebury, 27 - from the Forest Rescue environmental group boarded the Shonan Maru II in waters off the state's south early Sunday morning. The daring mission was aimed at forcing the vessel to stop tailing the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's anti-whaling flagship, the Steve Irwin. The men climbed past razorwire and spikes to board the ship and deliver a message: "Return us to shore in Australia and then remove yourself from our waters." [b]But the Shonan Maru No.2 yesterday afternoon was instead persisting with its pursuit of the Steve Irwin, with the Australians still on board.[/b] The men could be taken to Japan to face criminal charges over their actions. [b]Glenn Inwood, spokesman for the Japanese whaling program at the Institute of Cetacean Research, told The Australian that the incident occurred about 25 miles (40km) off the West Australian coast, outside Australian territorial waters but inside Australia's 200-mile (320km) economic zone.[/b] [b]"They are unhurt and they are being well looked after," Inwood said of the three men.[/b] He told ABC radio, [b]"Not only are they facing [a long time on board the vessel], but they risk being taken to Japan to be tried for trespassing, or for other charges."[/b] Ms Roxon said discussions with the Japanese government were continuing. "We have had a number of interactions with the Japanese government, particularly through our embassy in Tokyo," she told ABC radio. She said it was difficult because the incident didn't happen in Australia's territorial waters. "Because it was only in our exclusive economic zone, that doesn't give us automatic rights to assert Australian law. "In fact, the clearest advice that we have is that Japanese law would be likely to apply." [b]"It is likely that these three Australians may be taken back to Japan,"[/b] she said. Read more: [url]http://www.news.com.au/national/sea-shepherd-protesters-may-be-tried-in-japan-after-boarding-whaling-vessel-being-detained/story-e6frfkvr-1226239481962#ixzz1ivj8PDu3[/url] [/release] [url]http://www.news.com.au/national/sea-shepherd-protesters-may-be-tried-in-japan-after-boarding-whaling-vessel-being-detained/story-e6frfkvr-1226239481962[/url] There's a video of the boarding in the link. [release][b]Australian environmental activists who boarded the whaling security ship Shonan Maru No 2. risk being sent to prison in Japan, according to Tokyo's Institute of Cetacean Research.[/b] [b]The three men evaded defences overnight to board the ship [i]off the coast of Western Australia[/i] in an attempt to force it to abandon its pursuit of the Sea Shepherd ship, Steve Irwin.[/b] ICR, which conducts the Antarctic whaling program on behalf of the [b]Japanese government, said the trio risked being taken to Japan and jailed.[/b] "No decision has been made yet on the fate of the men who boarded the vessel," ICR spokesman Glenn Inwood said. "But they risk being taken back to Japan to face charges and [b]possible imprisonment.[/b] "What these guys don't understand is that the government of Japan's tolerance for Sea Shepherd and its supporters is extremely low and they risk facing that back in Japan." The boarding came after the Shonan Maru No. 2 resumed a long-running pursuit of the Steve Irwin, upon its departure from Fremantle. Geoffrey Tuxworth, 47, of Perth; Simon Peterffy, 44, of Bunbury; and Glen Pendlebury, 27, of Fremantle, from the [b]West Australian group Forest Action[/b], boarded the Japanese ship. They took a small boat out to sea from Bunbury, south of Perth, [b]for a rendezvous with two small boats from the Steve Irwin.[/b] "The boats approached the Shonan Maru No. 2 under cover of darkness and the three negotiated their way past the razor wire and spikes, and over the rails of the Japanese whaling vessel," a Sea Shepherd statement said. [b]"They came with a message: 'Return us to shore in Australia and then remove yourself from our waters'."[/b] The three men said in the statement they were taking the stand to prevent the Shonan Maru No. 2 from tailing the Steve Irwin back to the Southern Ocean whale sanctuary. [b]"We as Forest Rescue are insulted and disappointed in our government for allowing the transit of whale poaching vessels in Australian waters,"[/b] they said. The federal government is yet to respond to the boarding, [b]which happened inside the 200-nautical-mile Australian exclusive economic zone.[/b] Sea Shepherd leader Paul Watson said from the Steve Irwin that the ship was heading west towards the open sea with the Shonan Maru No. 2 still following. Read more: [url]http://www.theage.com.au/environment/japanese-whalers-issue-jail-threat-to-activists-20120108-1ppuz.html#ixzz1iptWg5ae[/url] [/release] [url]http://www.theage.com.au/environment/japanese-whalers-issue-jail-threat-to-activists-20120108-1ppuz.html[/url] [url]http://www.seashepherd.org/news-and-media/2012/01/07/three-australian-prisoners-now-detained-on-a-japanese-whaler-in-australian-waters-1309[/url] This happened off the Coast of Australia in Australian waters, and the people that boarded were from a group called Forest Rescue Australia, not Sea Shepherd. However SS assisted in the boarding. I can see their reasoning for doing it, but I don't think it was necessary and it's kinda silly. Political shit-storm inbound.

How can they be charged in japan for something that happened outside of japan? Wouldn't they have to go through Australia to charge them with anything since its their territory?

[QUOTE=Cmx;34103070]How can they be charged in japan for something that happened outside of japan? Wouldn't they have to go through Australia to charge them with anything since its their territory?[/QUOTE] Yeah but the Aussie government sucks up to everyone.

[QUOTE=Cmx;34103070]How can they be charged in japan for something that happened outside of japan? Wouldn't they have to go through Australia to charge them with anything since its their territory?[/QUOTE] Maybe asking the Aussies to extradite them to face charges in Japan. He's probably got quite a lot to answer for in Japan, loads of charges for damages and injuries and whatnot .

[QUOTE=Cmx;34103070]How can they be charged in japan for something that happened outside of japan? Wouldn't they have to go through Australia to charge them with anything since its their territory?[/QUOTE] I think that's the idea. Australia has said they don't want to see the Whalers in their Coastal waters. The whaling security ship (which has "armed" Japanese Coast Guard personnel on board) followed the Sea Shepherd ship all the way into Fremantel. Sea Shep saw the opportunity to cause a shitstorm and took it. The Aussies are forced to send out a vessel now to retrieve the Australian Citizens in Australian waters. And they boarded a Japanese vessel which as far as I know is technically Japanese Territory if boarded illegally.

They're doing this again? Didn't the last guy who did that give the captain a subpeona and get sentenced to 20 years?

[QUOTE=asteroidrules;34103495]They're doing this again? Didn't the last guy who did that give the captain a subpeona and get sentenced to 20 years?[/QUOTE] Two year suspend sentence. He went home after the court hearing.

That is 100% piracy right there. Pretty sure the penalty for that in many countries is execution. Hopefully they'll at least spend some time in prison.

[QUOTE=Ridge;34103673]That is 100% piracy right there. Pretty sure the penalty for that in many countries is execution. Hopefully they'll at least spend some time in prison.[/QUOTE] It hasn't been execution in civilized countries for decades. This is not the first time they've done this, and they'll probably just walk away like the last couple times because Japan doesn't want to have to face Australia for their shit. Australia has already sued Japan for whaling, they'll be in international Court in 2014.

[QUOTE=Ridge;34103673]That is 100% piracy right there. Pretty sure the penalty for that in many countries is execution. Hopefully they'll at least spend some time in prison.[/QUOTE] If the penalty for piracy was execution, a large number of internet users would be long dead.

Why dont those whalers shoot them? I mean good god, that is eco-terrorism right there, If i was the whalers i would shoot them.

[QUOTE=DarkCisco;34104234]Why dont those whalers shoot them? I mean good god, that is eco-terrorism right there, If i was the whalers i would shoot them.[/QUOTE] Japanese coast guard(a military branch) killing Australians in Australia while defending something Australia deems illegal. Oh yeah that'll go good politically.

[QUOTE=OvB;34104307]Japanese coast guard(a military branch) killing Australians in Australia while defending something Australia deems illegal. Oh yeah that'll go good politically.[/QUOTE] Remember, This is piracy and eco-terrorism. They board without permission.

Be a pretty bitch move if they took them back to Japan considering they (the whalers) were never meant to be in those waters in the first place.

[QUOTE=DarkCisco;34104411]Remember, This is piracy and eco-terrorism. They board without permission.[/QUOTE] And at the same time, Sea Shepard and the Japanese whaling industry has a huuuuge amount of publicity involved, and the media does create political bias in these kinds of situations.

We must save the forest whales!

[QUOTE=DarkCisco;34104411]Remember, This is piracy and eco-terrorism. They board without permission.[/QUOTE] Whaling is illegal in Australia. Whalers whale in water Claimed by Australia (though recognized by like 4 countries) then come [i]inside[/i] Australian coastal territory while following Sea Shepherd back to Fremantel. Technically they're very presence is illegal. They should've been intercepted by Aussie coast guard and tried for supporting a poaching fleet. Luckily for them the Aussie government has no backbone and lets them get away with it. The people that boarded the ship will either be handed to an Aussie Customs ship or taken back to Japan and released a few months later like Bethune. Japan doesn't want to piss off Australia more as it is, they've already been sued in the International Court of Justice for their illegal whaling.

The only people left defending one of mother nature's rare animals are being mocked and even face jail time. Think of the whales mate

Whatever the case, they're in a whale lot of trouble.

[QUOTE=sHiBaN;34104652]The only people left defending one of mother nature's rare animals are being mocked and even face jail time. Think of the whales mate[/QUOTE] Well, they do commit crimes. Not like the judge will drop charges just because they did it for the whales, a crime's a crime.

[QUOTE=DarkCisco;34104411]Remember, This is piracy and eco-terrorism. They board without permission.[/QUOTE] Yes, and those nice Japanese whalers are not doing anything wrong. Fuck you and your eco-terrorism scaremongering bullshit. You get to call them eco-terrorists when they start killing people or blow shit up to make their point.

[QUOTE=Florence;34105004]Yes, and those nice Japanese whalers are not doing anything wrong. Fuck you and your eco-terrorism scaremongering bullshit. You get to call them eco-terrorists when they start killing people or blow shit up to make their point.[/QUOTE] Well, um, errr.... How do I say this... [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1986_Hvalur_sinkings[/url] Then there's that other one, and they scuttled their own ship when it was confiscated. He plays the line between legal and illegal like a fiddle. They were never charged, and are currently free of any technical wrong-doing. Each year when they return from the Antarctic their ships are search and their stuff confiscated by Aussie authorities but they always get it back and are set free.

[QUOTE=Florence;34105004]Yes, and those nice Japanese whalers are not doing anything wrong. Fuck you and your eco-terrorism scaremongering bullshit. You get to call them eco-terrorists when they start killing people or blow shit up to make their point.[/QUOTE] How about ramming other ships? Because they've done that...

They're in our waters, whaling. Why the fuck should the people who boarded be sent to prison in japan if they're aussie waters. Jesus I hate how much the Australian government gives Japan a rimjob.

[QUOTE=V12US;34104706]Whatever the case, they're in a whale lot of trouble.[/QUOTE] I agree, they're whale over their heads here.

[QUOTE=mr apple;34105424]They're in our waters, whaling. Why the fuck should the people who boarded be sent to prison in japan if they're aussie waters. Jesus I hate how much the Australian government gives Japan a rimjob.[/QUOTE] Well I'm not sure how it goes for non-official (such as non-military) boats, but I think the boat itself could be considered territory of Japan. At least that's how I think it works. Anyways although I may disagree with the idea of whale hunting, this is still terrorism commited by the activists, and they should be punished as such.

Fuck prison. Execute them. Dump them in the ocean. They are hippy scum. Edit: Yay I caused a boxstorm!

[QUOTE=MIPS;34105962]Fuck prison. Execute them. Dump them in the ocean. They are hippy scum.[/QUOTE] Do the same with the poachers.

psst its Fremantle

[QUOTE=DarkCisco;34104411]Remember, This is piracy and eco-terrorism. They board without permission.[/QUOTE] Being in Australian waters without permission? That's just fine fucking dandy though.