Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Whaling Protesters Deliberately Sank Own Boat

Its skipper says sinking was done for public sympathy

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 8, 2010 2:00 AM CDT

(Newser) – Verbal harpoons are flying in a public feud between the leader of the Sea Shepherd conservation group and the former skipper of the group's high-tech "Batmobile" boat the Ady Gil, which sank after a collision with a Japanese ship earlier this year. Skipper Peter Bethune says the boat was salvageable after the collision but he was ordered to scuttle it by Sea Shepherd head Paul Watson, AP reports.

Watson wanted the boat sunk to "garner sympathy with the public and to create better TV," Bethune said. "Paul Watson was my admiral. He gave me an order and I carried it out. I was ashamed of it at the time and I'm ashamed of it now." Watson gives a very different version of events, saying the sinking was Bethune's decision. The skipper spent 5 months in a Japanese jail this year for boarding a whaling ship, and Watson says he was expelled from the group for giving Japanese authorities false information in exchange for leniency.

Activists of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society aboard the anti-whaling group's vessel Ady Gil aim a projectile launcher during their encounter with the Japanese whaling ship Nisshin Maru. (AP Photo/Institute of Cetacean Research)

Tthe Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's anti-whaling vessel Ady Gil is seen afloat in Antarctic waters. (AP Photo/Institute of Cetacean Research)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

CLICK BELOW TO VOTE

18%

53%

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Sea Shepherd Founder Arrested

Paul Watson faces charges in decade-old incident

(NEWSER) - A leading anti-whaling activist has been arrested in Germany. Paul Watson, founder of Sea Shepherd, was busted on Saturday over a 2002 clash with a Costa Rican "illegal shark finning operation" off Guatemala, the group says in a statement. The group says the warrant is tied to an "alleged violation of ships traffic"; other reports say Watson is also wanted for attempted murder in the showdown, the BBC notes. More»

Activists Slime Whalers With Butter, Paintballs

Japanese worried projectiles could injure or kill someone

(NEWSER) - Conservationists chucked paintballs and rotten butter at Japanese whalers, while the whalers fired back with water canons in their latest pitched, if unconventional, naval battle in the Antarctic Ocean yesterday. No one was injured in the clash, the AP reports. Paintballs are a new weapon for the Sea Shepherd group, who say they were aiming them at a sign that read “research.” More»

Activists Vow to Bust Boat-Destroying Whalers

Sea Shepherd donations are pouring in after sinking

(NEWSER) - The head of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society says that if the Australian and New Zealand governments fail to arrest the Japanese whalers who sank the Ady Gil, he'll do it himself. Paul Watson—whose group has already filed piracy charges against the crew of the Shonan Maru and is considering attempted murder charges as well—says he may have no choice but to attempt a citizen's arrest, the Christian Science Monitor reports. More»

Boat Destroyed, Whaling Activists Take to the Air

Whale war heats up after Sea Shepherd boat is destroyed

(NEWSER) - The anti-whaling group whose high-tech boat was destroyed by a Japanese whaler in Antarctic waters yesterday has continued to pursue their target by helicopter, and vowed to keep up the harassment. "We now have a real whale war on our hands," declared the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's leader, as the group offloaded fuel and other potential pollutants from the Ady Gil, a futuristic trimaran, in anticipation of its sinking, the AP reports. More»

Whalers Sink Activist Boat

Crew safe after Ady Gil rammed by Japanese in Antarctica

(NEWSER) - An activist boat operated by the Sea Shepherd conservationist group has sunk off Antarctica after a clash with Japanese whalers. All six crew members were saved after the Ady Gil high-tech speedboat was sliced in half by the Japanese ship Shonan Maru, the Times of London reports. The boat was idling when it was rammed by the Japanese vessel, according to spokesmen for Sea Shepherd, which uses confrontational tactics to harass whaling ships. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Whaling Protesters Deliberately Sank Own Boat

Its skipper says sinking was done for public sympathy

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society • Paul Watson • whaling • anti-whaling activists • Ady Gil

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Sea Shepherd Founder Arrested

Paul Watson faces charges in decade-old incident

Activists Slime Whalers With Butter, Paintballs

Japanese worried projectiles could injure or kill someone

Activists Vow to Bust Boat-Destroying Whalers

Sea Shepherd donations are pouring in after sinking

Boat Destroyed, Whaling Activists Take to the Air

Whale war heats up after Sea Shepherd boat is destroyed

Whalers Sink Activist Boat

Crew safe after Ady Gil rammed by Japanese in Antarctica

About Us

Site

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?