A Japanese whaling ship, stranded for 10 days off the Antarctic coast after a fire, no longer posed a danger to wildlife but was staying in the frigid Southern Ocean, New Zealand rescue officials said on Monday.
The Nisshin Maru, the 8,000 tonne flagship of Japan's whaling fleet, re-started its engines over the weekend for a "test run" following a fire below deck which killed a crewman.
"They have moved 200 nautical miles (370 kms) north of the danger zone they were in, but we have no idea yet of their intentions," a Maritime New Zealand spokeswoman said.
The fire broke out in the middle of the yearly Japanese whale harvest, which Tokyo insists is conducted for research purposes. Anti-whaling countries argue the planned cull of over 900 whales violates a 1986 global ban on commercial whaling.
The blaze sparked concern from anti-whaling activists that oil or chemicals could spill into the pristine Southern Ocean, close to the world's biggest Adelie penguin breeding colony.
A Japanese fisheries agency official in Tokyo said the Nisshin Maru would carry out extensive tests over the next few days to ensure it was able to move safely among ice as the Antarctic winter moved closer.
International environment watchdog Greenpeace said it was monitoring the Nisshin Maru with its anti-whaling ship the Esperanza, which has been assisting the Japanese with helicopter searches for nearby icebergs over the past week.
"If they simply sail out of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, we will escort them and continue to offer assistance," Greenpeace expedition leader Karli Thomas said in a statement.
"However, if they attempt to start whaling again then we will take peaceful direct action to stop the hunt."
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