Limping mother ship leads retreating whaling fleet

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Limping mother ship leads retreating whaling fleet
Xavier La Canna

Japanese whalers are likely to end their controversial whale hunt in Antarctica early and return to port, their spokesman says.

Greenpeace also said the badly damaged mother ship, Nisshin Maru, and the rest of the fleet, including whale chasers and the tanker Oriental Bluebird, were heading north yesterday at six knots.

The Nisshin Maru had been crippled in the Ross Sea for more than a week after a fire destroyed much of its wiring and electrical gear on February15.

Glenn Inwood, from Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research, said yesterday the Nisshin Maru was still testing its engines, but had travelled a few hundred nautical miles since the fire. He said that while a return to the hunt had not been ruled out, it was looking less likely as time went on.

"By Wednesday we should be able to make a decision as to whether or not they are going stay, or whether they go home. I think it is looking more likely that they are going to go home, but I don't know that yet," he said.

"Quite frankly, I think it would be good for them to stick their finger up and say we are going to carry on."

The Nisshin Maru sparked fears of an environmental catastrophe after it was stranded in the Ross Sea by a fire which claimed the life of crewman Kazutaka Makita and cut power to the vessel.

The fleet of six whaling vessels began moving northward at the weekend after the engines on the ship were repaired.

New Zealand's Conservation Minister said through a spokesman that he would be surprised if the hunt were to continue this season.

He said Japanese officials told the minister last week that the hunt was unlikely to resume, and he believed the vessels were already returning to port.

"They are under way. We are delighted they are under way and heading out of there," he said.

Greenpeace spokeswoman Karli Thomas, from the ship Esperanza, said the whalers had told the environmentalists the season was over and they were headed for Japan.

"They have given their word, not just to Greenpeace, but to the authorities in New Zealand.

"But if they did resume whaling we are right here with the whole fleet and we would do what we can to stop them." While it was a terrible tragedy to lose a crew member, the Japanese "should not have been there in the first place".

"We certainly hope this is going to be the last time any whaling fleet comes to the Southern Ocean."

The Greenpeace ship would stay with the Japanese fleet until it left Antarctic waters. AAP,NZPA