Esperanza "banned" from Japan
Apparently under some pressure, our agent there has decided she can't represent us. And without an agent it is all but impossible for us to take the ship into port. So we're not being officially blocked by the government, but are being kept out none the less.
Background - Our ship, the Esperanza, was more than 500 miles from the whaling fleet when a fire broke out on board their factory ship. But we responded at full speed to their location and rendered what aid we could. After 10 days without engines, they managed to get underway again.
From our press release:
With the Esperanza less than a day's sailing from port, the All Japan Seamen's Union (AJSU) visited the Greenpeace ship's agent and subsequently the agent formally withdrew services for the ship - preventing her from coming into port."The AJSU is simply playing politics and using intimidation to shut down legitimate dialogue," said Sara Holden, of Greenpeace International, on board the Esperanza. "Greenpeace has brought its ship to Tokyo in an effort to open dialogue with the government and its whaling agencies. If they have nothing to hide then there is no reason not to let us in. But it is clearly in their interest to keep the public ignorant of what is really going on."
A recent opinion poll showed that 92 percent of Japanese people do not know the scale of their government's hunt in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. Of those that do, more than two-thirds do not support the hunt. Could this be why they don't want us talking to the Japanese people about whaling? I suspect so.
Comments
You do seem to be ignoring the simple fact that this has happened as a result of others taking advantage of their right to free speech.
Then again, maybe the agent is not interested in having to deal with any stunt you might perform, such as member of your crew chaining themselves to some part of Japan or climbing all over somthing like it was a jungle gym.
According to the new rules Shore agents are often held as accountable as a vessel's captain for whatever happens while a vessel is in Port. Now this might not be the reason why your agent is refusing to accept your ship as a client, it is their right.
You have an office there, you should get an agent as a member of staff.
Posted by: Fred Fry | March 28, 2007 2:47 PM
I find it quite amazing that you people harrass and endanger the Japanese whalers, falsely claim you "rendered what aid you could" to the ship which caught fire--(when in reality it refused your "aid"), and now feel you have the right to enter that country, perform your juvenile antics, spread your propaganda and presumably try and raise money. Every country has the right to refuse entry to criminals, lawbreakers and terrorists, and it seems to me Greenpeace falls into all of those categories.
Why don't you people grow up and make at least a small effort to understand other cultures, their traditions and ways of life? Whales are animals, not some sort of dieties, and have beem hunted for food for centuries by many different peoples, including aboriginals. Has it ever entered your minds that you might just be wrong in your fuzzy thinking?
I am not Japanese, but Greenpeace, the Sea Shepherd Society and other like-minded eco-terrorists make me sick. Why the media gives reams of publicity to petty criminals such as Greenpeace is beyond undestanding.
Posted by: William | March 30, 2007 7:40 AM
Hi William - you might want to check your facts before you sound off. I was there, on the Esperanza, while the stricken Nisshin Maru was tethered to two other whaling ships. We answered a distress call from the Nisshin Maru, and arrived on the scene to help. We didn't want the ship to be in the Ross Sea - even if it's out of order, as that also poses a risk to the environment. During the week or so that we were there, we provided information to the Japanese whaling fleet on the movement of the ice - by taking survey flights by helicopter. We had a good working relationship with the whaling fleet - meanwhile, the Japanese fisheries agency was unhelpfully calling us "terrorists".
Greenpeace doesn't work with Sea Shepherd - due to fundamental differences in tactics and philosophy.
William, you might not be Japanese, but several of my Greenpeace colleagues are - and they want to put an end to the scourage of industrial whaling.
You can read more about the misconceptions surrounding whaling here »
Posted by: Dave | April 2, 2007 10:29 PM