A second boat belonging to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is now set to sail on Wednesday from an Australian port for the Antarctic to disrupt Japan's research whaling there.
The tri-hulled Ady Gil, a high-speed powerboat, is the conservation group's latest weapon against Japanese whalers, which will begin their operations soon.
After being loaded with supplies for the 3-month voyage, the 24-meter-long vessel with 6 crewmembers aboard departed from the southern state of Tasmania on Tuesday.
But it returned to the port 5 hours later after reporting malfunctions in its satellite communications equipment.
The futuristic craft has a top speed of 75 kilometers per hour. The Sea Shepherd group says it circumnavigated the globe in 61 days last year, setting a world record.
Ady Gil Captain Pete Bethune says his crew will do all they can to stop Japanese whaling, which he called a wrong activity.
The Sea Shepherd organization, using its first vessel the Steve Irwin, has repeatedly conducted violent sabotage activities against Japanese research whalers, including throwing bottles of chemicals and sideswiping.
2009/12/08 19:54(JST)
(JST: UTC+9hrs.)
http://www.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/08_33.html
Thu Dec 10, 2009 10:32 am