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Hunted whaling ship catches fire

This picture released last Friday by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society International headquarters shows the Japanese whaling ship Nisshin-maru from the deck of the anti-whaling activists' ship, the Robert Hunter. One crewman was missing after fire erupted on the Japanese whaling ship yesterday. PHOTO: AFP

A crewman was missing after fire erupted on a Japanese whaling ship in icy Antarctic waters yesterday, following weeks of running battles between the hunters and militant environmentalists.

Sabotage was ruled out, but fears of pollution of the pristine environment grew after the Nisshin Maru sent out a distress call before dawn saying most of the crew had abandoned ship.

Maritime New Zealand spokesman Steve Corbett said it was not clear if the missing crewman, a 27-year-old Japanese national, was on the ship or had gone overboard into the freezing waters of the Ross Sea.

The Nisshin Maru was part of a Japanese whaling fleet hounded in Antarctic waters by the environmental group Sea Shepherd, as activists protested the fleet's plan to hunt nearly 1,000 whales.

The International Whaling Commission (IWC) placed a moratorium on commercial whaling in 1986, but Japan has continued hunting for what it calls scientific research.

Earlier this week, a whaler and a protest ship collided.

But Sea Shepherd leader Paul Watson said his vessels were well clear of the Nisshin Maru when the fire broke out.

"We haven't had contact with the vessel for about three days now and have been heading back to port because we are short of fuel," he told Sky News Australia.

"They are about 1,000 miles [1,600km] away from us now, so all we got was a distress signal through New Zealand search and rescue," he said.

A spokesman for Japan's Fisheries Agency confirmed that the fire and the protests were apparently unrelated, saying: "We have not seen any relations between the fire and the attacks by activists."

The fire was reportedly brought under control several hours after the distress call was made.

"The fire started in a processing room at the rear of the vessel. It spread quite quickly and became rather intense," Glenn Inwood, a spokesman for the Japanese whaling industry, told Radio New Zealand yesterday.

"We evacuated 120 crew. About 40 remained on board to deal with the fire and they did bring it under control after some time," he said.

There was speculation the fire was fueled by whale meat and oil in the factory ship, but this was not confirmed by the Japanese.

New Zealand said concerns remained over potential damage to Antarctica's pristine environment.

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Whaling nations defiant

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