ANTIGUA & BARBUDA (16 Oct 2006) -- The Sea Shepherd purchase of the Leviathan, in its campaign to stop Japanese whaling, has been stymied by the government of Antigua, where the Leviathan is presently registered. Antigua is a tourist-unfriendly, pro-whaling nation that has admitted accepting bribes from Japan in exchange for IWC pro-whaling votes. According to media reports, Captain Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has confirmed the sale had fallen through. "The problem was that the ship was registered in Antigua, and when Antigua found out that we were intending to purchase the vessel, they informed us that they would not allow us to sail as a registered yacht," Captain Watson said. He elaborated further "I am confident that we will have a second ship for the campaign, and we will have it secured within two weeks," Captain Watson said. The Japan whaling fleet is due to leave Japan in about four weeks, bound for the Great Southern Ocean near Antarctica. Whaling usually commences in early December. The Sea Shepherd ship Farley Mowat is presently moored in Melbourne preparing for the campaign against Japanese whaling. Two Greenpeace vessels will also be campaigning against whaling. Time will tell whether Sea Shepherd are able to find another vessel with the right specifications quickly, and are able to prepare it and sail it to Antarctica in time to confront Japan's commercial whaling fleet. | | Why let whales and dolphins live when you can kill them and make money selling pet food? Welcome to Antigua, a corrupt tourist-unfriendly Caribbean nation that has sold out to Japan's commercial whaling agenda. Japan and other whaling nations won a vote narrowly in June at the International Whaling Commission criticising the global whaling moratorium on commercial whaling that has been in place since 1986. Japan has been widely criticised for its scientific whaling program being an abuse of a loophole in the Moratorium, which has allowed it to in effect continue commercial whaling. SCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba Forum |
