First rule of the road - "Might is Right"
As any fisherman knows, when out on the high seas in the company of larger vessels than yourself, the first rule of the road is, "Might is Right". The skipper of the Ady Gill, one of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's fleet, ended up in a position where it seems inevitable that he would fall foul of this oldest of collision regulations with inevitable - but luckily for his crew - not fateful consequences.
Whether for or against whaling, an operation being carried out by the Japanese whaler concerned within the spirit of international law, any actions that jeopardise a vessel or vessels making a safe passage at sea cannot be condoned - especially when lives are put at risk. Towards the end of the video, after the collision, it sounds like the Japanese commentary aboard the whaler describing the situation says, in English, "uh, the whole thing....not good"
The boat called in to the Scilly last year on her round the world voyage before she joined the Sea Shepherd group. This is a long way from her record breaking non-stop trip around the world completed in 2008 when she was known as the
Whether for or against whaling, an operation being carried out by the Japanese whaler concerned within the spirit of international law, any actions that jeopardise a vessel or vessels making a safe passage at sea cannot be condoned - especially when lives are put at risk. Towards the end of the video, after the collision, it sounds like the Japanese commentary aboard the whaler describing the situation says, in English, "uh, the whole thing....not good"
The boat called in to the Scilly last year on her round the world voyage before she joined the Sea Shepherd group. This is a long way from her record breaking non-stop trip around the world completed in 2008 when she was known as the
posted by Laurence Hartwell at
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
2 Comments:
In an unprovoked attack the Japanese security ship Shonan Maru No. 2 deliberately rammed and caused catastrophic damage to the Sea Shepherd trimaran Ady Gil. The attack happened while the vessel was dead in the water. The Shonan Maru No. 2 suddenly started up and deliberately rammed the Ady Gil ripping eight feet of the bow of the vessel completely off.
If a Sea Shepherd ship had rammed and sunk a Japanese ship, there would be no hesitation in sending a Navy ship to the Southern Ocean with a warrant of arrest.
The Japanese whaling fleet is targeting endangered and protected whales (Minke, fins, and humpbacks) in an established international whale sanctuary in violation of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) global moratorium on commercial whaling.
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has undertaken six campaigns to the Southern Ocean without causing a single injury, without being charged with a single crime, without being charged with a single maritime violation and without being sued by any government, corporation or individual.
The objective of Sea Shepherd’s campaign is to bankrupt the illegal Japanese whaling fleet and to sink them economically.
Our remaining 2 ships, The Steve Irwin: Crew of 41 and the Bob Barker: Crew of 30, are now in pursuit of the Japanese fleet.
Sea Shepherd shore crew. (Cornwall)
Many thanks for the comment Sea Shepherd shore crew Cornwall - point taken re the illegal activities of the Japanese whaling fleet - but, as an ex-fisherman with too many experiences and absent friends after close encounters involving small fishing boats and much larger commercial traffic, I cannot condone the actions of the Ady Gil - she looks to lack anything like the manouverability needed to extricate herself from the position she found herself in alongside a Japanes whaler intent on a close encounter - the sea is too harsh an environment in which to play with peoples lives. My point was that to sail by the unwritten rule, 'Might is Right' is the fisherman's interpretation in plain simple English of Rule 2 of the Collision Regulations:
Responsibility
(a) Nothing in these rules shall exonerate any vessel, or the owner, master or crew thereof, from the consequences of any neglect to comply with these rules or of the neglect of any precautions which may be required by the ordinary practice of seamen, or by the special circumstances of the case.
(b) In construing and complying with these rules due regard shall be had to all dangers of navigation and collision and to any special circumstances, including the limitations of the vessels involved, which may make a departure from these rules necessary to avoid immediate danger
Which means that, "This rule makes it clear that mariners can not hide behind behind the rules and use them as an excuse. It is worded so that seamen are able to use their judgment and experience to deal with unusual situations which would be impossible to predict and legislate for."......and one of those is unusual situations is when "Might is Right"!
Collison Regs info courtesy of http://www.sailtrain.co.uk/Irpcs/rule2d.htm
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