Tokyo. Who's on trial, face jail? Whalers - hunting quota cut in half - cut antiwhaling Ady Gil (Earthrace) in half

In Tokyo court on trial today stands a New Zealander detained in Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary waters when delivering a citizen’s arrest. An international case all about whales. Who is guilty: whalers who killed 507 whales? Or anti-whaler who risked his life and lost his boat to have helped save 528 whales? The 1000-ton whaling vessel Shonan Maru 2 who cut 17-ton-fibreglass anti-whaling boat in half? Key witnesses are missing: the slaughtered whales packaged for the meat market and the saved whales [some are being hunted to extinction] who are free and happily enjoying the blue oceans and nursing their offspring. Remember, oceans and sea life do not only belong to all of us regardless of cultural background, but more so to our children, and children’s children. If the anti-whaler is guilty, who is not? The Ocean is dying...

(quote)

Fuel change breakthrough: biodiesel-powered speedboat Earthrace, around world in 60 days, beats record set in 1998 by 14 days (Posted on 29 June 2008)

Team Earthrace, led by New Zealand Skipper Pete Bethune, has smashed the world circumnavigation record for a speedboat by almost 14 days. Almost five years of preparation, planning and two record attempts have paid off leaving the bio-diesel powered Earthrace team to claim the round the world speedboat record.

Possibly the coolest powerboat on the planet, the space age, wave piercing trimaran Earthrace took bio-fuel into history as the 78 foot, (24 metre) boat crossed the 'Round the World' finish line in Sagunto, Spain. In just 60 days Earthrace has powered almost 24,000 nautical miles around the world. Earthrace left Spain on Sunday April 27th at 14:35 local time (1325 GMT) and headed west on the long voyage around the world. The previous record for a powerboat to circumnavigate the globe was 74 days 20 hours 58 minutes 30 seconds, set by the UK boat ‘Cable & Wireless Adventurer’ in 1998.
...
For the visionary skipper behind the Earthrace campaigns the last sixty days is just one step in a journey that has, so far, taken five years. In 2003 living in Sydney Australia, Aucklander Pete Bethune was working on his MBA when he wrote a 20,000 word paper on the use of renewable energy for road transport. Convinced by his research, he set out to prove that sustainable bio-fuels were a practical step in the replacement of hydrocarbon fuels.
...
Positive change is not often seen on today's new reports. This is change that may not have happened if Skipper Pete Bethune had not laid his future on the line to build the first link of a chain that ends in a web of small events adding up to a slightly better world. This is the real long-term record that can be claimed by the team - the claim to a better future!

Ocean guardians - Earthrace joins Sea Shepherd to stop whale slaughter. Global community's tried but so far failed (Posted on 12 December 2009)

Thanks to a $1 million donation from its namesake, US multi-millionaire Ady Gil, formerly known as Earthrace, the Ady Gil has become the latest addition to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ... chasing the Japanese whaling fleet in Antarctic waters. ... Spaceage Boat, Earthrace, Joins Sea Shepherd in Fight Against Japanese Whaling in Antarctic ... Almost exactly one year on from the 100% biofuel eco-boat, Earthrace, crossing the finish line in Spain on 27 June 2008, her international crew of volunteers have been officially named as world record holders by the Union International Motonautique (UIM). ...

Australia has "shocking" evidence to back a legal bid to stop Japanese whaling in the Southern Ocean. The evidence is a pile of "shocking images" of the annual whale hunt taken by crew aboard the armed customs patrol vessel Oceanic Viking. ... Greenpeace Australia Pacific CEO Steve Shallhorn said the Australian Government images show the world that the Japanese fleet is killing whales in a globally recognized sanctuary and does not care if they are mothers or infants.
...
Commercial whaling has been banned by the IWC since 1986. Japan staunchly defends its annual killing of more than 1000 whales, which it conducts under a clause in International Whaling Commission (IWC) rules that allows whales to be killed for scientific research purposes.
...
In 2008, the Japanese fleet killed 551 minke whales in Antarctica, while in 2009 the figures jumped to a kill of 679 minke whales and one endangered fin whale. The increase in numbers has led to a glut of meat in the Japanese market; by the end of August 2009, some 5288 tons of whale meat was sitting in cold stores across Japan, a 16% rise in stockpiles compared to August of 2008. ...

TV host Bob Barker donates $5mil to help end destruction of habitat & slaughter of wildlife, preserving ecosystems & species (Posted on 06 January 2010)

... Bob Barker said, 'I'm delighted to be able to help the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society in its mission to end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world's oceans,' 'There is lot of talk about preserving our ecosystems and species, but this is one organization that puts these words into action.'
...
Thanks to his $5,000,000 contribution, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society was able to purchase and refit the former Norwegian whaler in Africa. The boat departed from Mauritius on December 18 to join the Sea Shepherd ships Steve Irwin and Ady Gil in the Southern Ocean, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society reports. ... The Ady Gil, with twice the speed of the Japanese harpoon vessels, will concentrate on intercepting the fast chaser vessels to block their hunting activities. ...

Blue Roses to Earthrace Ady Gil: 100% biofuel, spirit of ocean, stands for life, saves crew, sunk by whaler, rests in sea.. (Posted on 16 January 2010)

Earthrace (Ady Gil): you are Sea Spirit, born for the ocean ecosystem; you are the one-of-a-kind, around-the-world champion speedboat powered by pure biofuel; you gallantly stand for Life, for gentle intelligent whales. On Jan. 6, 2010, when the monstrous whaling vessel suddenly runs over you and your six courageous crew, you’re badly wounded yet do not fail to protect all of your crew to re-emerge from underneath the icy Antarctic water...

Ocean crying for Justice: victims of slaughter. Mother & calf are killed so is Whale defender Ady Gil (Earthrace) (Posted on 16 February 2010)

Skipper Pete Bethune tells of 'murderous' brush with death - The captain of the ill-fated Ady Gil has told of his crew's "murderous" brush with death in the Antarctic when their high-speed pursuit vessel was sliced open by a Japanese whaler.

As New Zealand maritime authorities waited in Fremantle to interview the survivors on Thursday, Kiwi Pete Bethune accused the crew of Shonan Maru 2 of "attempted murder" by "deliberately ramming" their boat into his space-age carbon-fibre vessel on January 6. The Japanese deny they were at fault, saying the Ady Gil turned deliberately in front of them.

"I've had a few nightmares - I think all the crew think about it every night," Captain Bethune told reporters on arrival in Fremantle aboard the Steve Irwin, the anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd's vessel, early on Thursday. The ship will be in port only 48 hours to refuel, resupply and put four of the Ady Gil crew ashore, before returning to Antarctic waters to resume its anti-whaling campaign. "Looking back on it, the day it happened the crew just went into shock," Captain Bethune said.
...
Captain Bethune described how his sleek trimaran - a $1.5 million former world speed record holder donated by US television personality and ocean life protector Ady Gil - had stopped chasing the Japanese whaling fleet in Australian territorial waters on the fateful morning. As it happened, the trimaran was running low on fuel, he said.

"We were dead in the water and we saw the Shonan Maru come in on us and deliberately line us up," he said. "It wasn't like we were just in their path and they happened to come by us. They deliberately turned, and then for about 600 metres or 800 metres they came and it looked like they were going to miss us by about 20 to 30 metres. "Then suddenly they turned to starboard sharply and cut us in half. There's no doubt in my mind - they deliberately rammed us."

"It's not an accident - it's a deliberate act that they came in and hit us."

Captain Bethune said video footage taken from another Sea Shepherd boat, the Bob Barker, showed clearly the Ady Gil had right of way. "We've had maritime experts who have looked at the video footage from the Bob Barker and they're all unequivocal - the Shonan Maru 2 is at fault," he said.
...

Experts: Bethune's boarding not illegal under international law. Maritime law requires whaler to return him safely to NZ or AU (Posted on 18 February 2010)

... Ocean life defender and world record holder Captain Pete Bethune climbed aboard a Japanese vessel on Feb. 14, 2010 in the Antarctic Ocean to attempt a citizen's arrest for the destruction of a protest vessel last month. He wanted to arrest Shonan Maru 2's captain for Ady Gil's destruction and "attempted murder" of six Ady Gil crew members.

The whalers decried the boarding as illegal. However, Donald Rothwell, a professor of international and maritime law at the Australian National University, said Bethune's boarding was not illegal under international law unless he planned to do harm to the crew or imperil the safety of the Shonan Maru 2. Merely making a demand or presenting a letter and a bill did not constitute terrorism or piracy.

Captain Pete Bethune has clearly & without any mistake stated in his written letter that the Japanese whaler has an obligation under maritime law to provide him with safe passage back to land: "If you refuse to be arrested, then I am requesting that you deliver me to Wellington (New Zealand). Having sunk my vessel, and with our issuing of a mayday call, you have an obligation under maritime law to provide me with safe passage back to land." Apparently, Captain Bethune is boarding to deliver a citizen arrest for "attempted murder" (Maritime NZ confirms Ady Gil investigation) which he himself experienced and survived as one of the six almost-killed Ady Gil crew members, and to deliver an invoice - compensation for the world-famous, only-one-of-its-kind space-age ecoboat Earthrace, alter renamed after ocean life philanthropist, Ady Gil. ...

Who commits Trespass, Piracy (robbery at sea)? Whaler or Bethune? Whale Sanctuary, 304 females killed: 192 pregnant, 4 lactating (Posted on 20 February 2010)

Responses to 'Is the Anti-Whaling Activist Who Boarded a Japanese Whaling Ship a Pirate?' Jim Says: The Japanese are trespassing and poaching within a known whale sanctuary. What type of research results in the SALE of WHALEMEAT to consumers - this is profiteering by the Japanese and they are the actual pirates? AnimuX Says: If Japan prosecutes Pete Bethune, he will become the political prisoner of a tyrannical government that has even violated the basic human rights of its own citizens (remember the Tokyo Two?) in order to support the whaling industry. Not to mention the fact that the captain of the ship that Pete boarded, Shonan Maru 2, is the same man who rammed and destroyed his vessel, Ady Gil, nearly killing Bethune and 5 members of his crew. If anything, the captain and crew of the Shonan Maru 2 should be apprehended and charged by New Zealand authorities for attempted murder.

As for the flawed concept that Japan is doing “legal” research in the Southern Ocean:
...

NZ to honor law of citizen's arrest and denounce Japan's arrest of Pete Bethune? Experts: Bethune's boarding not illegal (Posted on 15 March 2010)

... On January 6, 2010, 750-ton-steel Japanese whaling ship Shonan Maru No. 2 sliced open 17-ton-carbon-fibre(fibreglass) Earthrace - also known as Ady Gil, space-age, world record holder, 100% biofuel-powered, only-one-of-its-kind trimaran with 6 crew on board including Skipper Pete Bethune. On February 15, New Zealander Peter Bethune, boarded Japanese whaling ship Shonan Maru No 2 in the Antarctic Ocean to serve a citizen’s arrest. He has been held by the whalers since then and was arrested on March 12 when the whaling ship docked in Tokyo. Japanese authorities have still to decide what to do about him. "Some Japanese officials have argued that Bethune should have been deported." If New Zealand is to honor her own law of citizen’s arrest, then it seems more appropriate to denounce Japan’s arrest of Captain Bethune and bring him home immediately without creating more unpleasant tension among people or embarrassment between nations. ...
Who commits Trespass, Piracy (robbery at sea)? Whaler or Bethune? In Whale Sanctuary, 304 females killed: 192 pregnant, 4 lactating...

Oceans die, civilizations die. Defend sea, defend cultures. Jailed: Japanese Tokyo 2 & New Zealander Pete Bethune (Posted on 16 April 2010)

... Bottom L: “Tokyo Two” - Junichi Sato (left), Toru Suzuki (right), and their lead counsel, Yuichi Kaido (center) face reporters at a press briefing following their first pre-trial hearing at Aomori District Court in 2009. United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has already ruled that, in the defendants' attempts to expose a scandal in the public interest, their human rights have been breached by the Japanese government. Top R: New Zealander Peter Bethune boarded Japanese whaling ship Shonan Maru No 2 in the Antarctic Ocean to serve a citizen’s arrest for destruction of his ship (Earthrace aka Ady Gil). He has been held by the whalers since then and was arrested on March 12 when the whaling ship docked in Tokyo. ...

... Embedded video (above) & articles by NZ Green Party MP, Gareth Hughes (attached below) question legitimacy of Japanese prosecution: on bail or in jail, Japanese and New Zealander, who committed no crime but acted to defend the ocean based on the same beliefs, values and principles regardless of different cultural backgrounds: “no commercial whaling, no killing of ocean’s giants” which is also the very wish of millions and millions of people from all over the world, of different ethnicities. Two courageous Japanese young men, Toru Suzuki and Junichi Sato who exposed illegal whaling industry, were subsequently arrested in Tokyo, and so was New Zealander Captain Peter Bethune who served a citizen's arrest to Captain of Shonan Maru 2 for destroying Ady Gil (Earthrace) in Australian Antarctic Territory EEZ waters. The Japanese fleet of whaling ships return home this year with 507 whales, short of their 935 target. The whaling fleet's leader, Shigetoshi Nishiwaki, said he was "furious" with Sea Shepherd for preventing it from reaching its quota during the five-month season. In other words, thanks to ocean defenders’ efforts at the risk of their own lives, 428 whales escaped from slaughter, from the meat market, and are somewhere happily swimming and breaching and nurturing their young. However, men of action to defend the oceans are imprisoned in jail cells. ...

Turn clock back 25 years to legalize commercial whaling? 2,039,621 whales killed, <3k fin escaped hunting, protector in cell (Posted on 25 April 2010)

... Ignoring 6 crew in sight, the 750-ton iron-and-steel ship Shonan Maru 2 sliced 17-ton fiberglass ecoboat Earthrace/Ady Gil into two when it was idle in the water, waiting to be refueled, 6 crew sitting on the deck, chatting. ... imprisoned Pete Bethune, skipper of Ady Gil / Earthrace. ...
Captain Paul Watson Earth Day message of thanks for his Sea Shepherd supporters: 'Please remember the crisis currently facing our oceans and please show your support for our vital cause. Sea Shepherd is the only direct action marine defense organization in the world to do what we do, and we couldn't do it without support from people like you,' said Watson. In the news, the Sea Shepherd Whale Defense campaign reportedly saves 528 whales. 'Every April on Earth Day, we are reminded of the critical need to shepherd our Earth away from the forces of greed, to defend the defenseless, and to give a voice to the voiceless. We hope you will stand with us in the coming weeks and months as we embark on our next campaign to defend the bluefin tuna.. '
...
Account from survivor Ady Gil crew member Mike Smith, of Tauranga: I was one of the crew on the Ady Gil, the boat formerly known as Earthrace that was rammed by the Japanese in Antarctica. I am a firefighter in the NZ Fire Service, not a radical activist or terrorist like many people seem to think all Sea Shepherd crew are. I feel strongly enough about putting an end to whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary that I took an opportunity to stand up for what I believe in.
...

(unquote)

Remember, oceans and sea life do not only belong to all of us regardless of cultural background, but more so to our children, and children’s children. If the anti-whaler is guilty, who is not? The Ocean is dying...

[see individual posts for original sources and image credits]