Armed Cruise Ship To Intercept Japanese Whalers

Here's a post a wrote for gCaptain today one Japan's Whaling Fleet; 

Reuters has an update on Australia’s recent attempts to track Japan’s whaling fleet:

CANBERRA,
Australia (Reuters) — An Australian fisheries ship has begun pursuing
Japan’s whaling fleet near Antarctica to gather evidence for an
international court challenge to halt the yearly slaughter, officials
said Wednesday.The icebreaker Oceanic Viking,
used for customs and fisheries policing, left a base near Perth on
Tuesday to track the fleet in the Southern Ocean for up to 20 days, a
Home Affairs Ministry spokeswoman said.

The vessel has stowed arms below deck to avoid a confrontation, but
Australian customs officials on board plan to gather photographic and
video evidence of the Japanese kill.

In mid December The Sydney Morning Herald gave further details on the “customs” ship:

AUSTRALIA
plans to spy on the Japanese whaling fleet using an armed P&O
cruise ship, with a lesser role for the Australian Defence
Force.High-level talks have focused on leasing the commercial vessel,
Oceanic Viking, which has a re-enforced hull to cut through ice, a crew
trained for polar conditions and “super-telephoto” lenses to record the
whale slaughter.

Sources said the ship would also carry video equipment, and the
images would be used in Australian international court action planned
against the Japanese whale hunt, the largest for 20 years. The images
would complement a series of aerial surveys on whale populations, to
begin soon.

Under plans being developed, the Oceanic Viking
would have two .50-calibre machine-guns manned by a customs boarding
party to supply the “muscle”, while working with a civilian P&O
crew. Continue Reading…

Since that article was published the Japanese fleet abandoned plans
hunt 50 endangered humpback whales, refocusing efforts on a goal of 900
minke whales and 50 fin whales. In response to the changes Australia
has decided the guns, while remaining aboard, will be kept under lock
and key.

Along with the customs ship Greenpeace has given orders to the M/V Esperanza (photos) to join the effort. The following image is charts planned route of each vessel.

Continue reading at gCaptain.com