Nisshin Maru to finally leave the Southern Ocean (and don't come back!) | Home | Media in a tangle

A wonderful guide, great idea, and wonderfully frank...I am especially glad you pointed out how the ICR calls their harpoon ships 'Sampling' ships...a ridiculous corruption of language (or propaganda if you rather), all in keeping with the ruse of whaling being conducted as 'research.' See, researchers take samples. Mighty big samples. Twenty-ton samples. Over 15,000 samples sampled since the commercial whaling ban in 1986.

A lovely guide.

Another interesting fact about the Oriental Bluebird is that it is a well known supply ship for IUU fishing.

Here's another picture of Oriental Bluebird, of two on the site.

http://www.boatnerd.com/news/newpictures03/oriental-bluebird,-japanese.jpg

Pepijn,

I suppose you are mentionning the fact that the name of the Oriental Bluebird appears on a WWF report on "flags of convenience". You however failed to quote what is written in introduction to the list where the appears the Oriental Bluebird :

"Fleets of vessels that refuel and supply high seas fishing vessels are also an essential element of the infrastructure that allows fishing vessels, both legitimate and IUU, to operate for long periods of time on the high seas. A sample list of vessels most likely to be servicing distant water fishing vessels operating on the high seas and, in some cases within other countries' EEZs, is contained in Table 4.1. The authors wish to emphasize that we have founf NO EVIDENCE to suggest that any of the companies or vessels listed on Table 4.1 are engaged in resupplying IUU fishing vessels operating on the high seas. Rather, this list was compiled to identify the structure and means by which the at-sea and bunkering industry could be enlisted to support efforts to combat IUU fishing."
http://www.wwf.org.uk/filelibrary/pdf/flagsofconvenience.pdf

Because Sea Shepherd say it doesn't make it so.

Hallo Dave,
I like the extra info and hope that the Esperanza can escort the Nisshin Maru back to Japan.

Frank

This ship regularly visits Honolulu Hawaii where the picture was taken.

So Isanatori, did you replace David, is he on vacation or so?

You might've picked up on the fact that I don't really like Sea Shepherd and have some difficulties trusting what they say. So indeed; for me it doesn't make it so just because Sea Shepherd say it. It makes it so because credible organisations are saying so.

Anyway, as you found the WWF report I'm sure you can find the other info on the Oriental Bluebird and its activities also. A certain RFMO had some interesting notes about it... transshipment, no authorisation.. all those pesky keywords :) Also I seem to remember something about this whole IUU thing... it had something to do with no paper trail and being difficult to pinpoint or so... hmmm

Pepijn,

Could you provide a link to those interesting notes from the RFMO on the Oriental Bluebird ? I'm interested.

Btw, I'm not replacing anyone. Are you ?

For completeness here is the other picture of Oriental Bluebird.

http://www.boatnerd.com/news/newpictures03/ORIENTAL-BLUEBIRD-proceedin.jpg

In honolulu, as TIM DICK mentions, photographed 2003.

While we stood by the stricken Nisshin Maru and it the rest of the whaling fleet, we had been under the impression that the Oriental Bluebird is a single-hulled oil tanker. However, after further investigation - and it was hard work getting this information - we've finally found out the Oriental Bluebird *is* a double-hulled tanker. This doesn't absolve the Panamanian-flagged vessel of all crimes, however - she was still refuelling the whaling fleet in the Ross Sea, far inside the Antarctic Treaty Area. We just wanted to be sure you had the right, up-to-date information about the Oriental Bluebird.

It's a little worrying to see that three of the databases considered most reliable - Lloyds Registry of Ships, SeaWeb and Intertanko all have the Oriental Bluebird recorded as a single-hulled tanker. Meanwhile, the US coastguard registry have informed us that the tanker has recently been converted to double-hulled. But whether the Oriental Bluebird is double-hulled or single-hulled, it must never return to the Southern Ocean again!

Single-hulled, double-hulled, it is still not ice classed, and therefore unsuitable for polar waters!