Whaling factory ship Nisshin Maru up for sale? If only!
Posted by Dave (in Anchorage, Alaska)
© Dave Walsh
Alas no, the Japanese whaling fleet's factory ship, the Nisshin Maru is not up for sale. This vessel, the Whale 2, was spotted by Greenpeace Japan's whale campaigner, Junichi, Dutch video-guru Maarten and I in Homer, Alaska, at the weekend. We couldn't help but notice that it had "RESEARCH" plastered all over it, along with a for sale sign. And it's registered in Valdez, of course - where one of the worst environmental disasters ever occurred, when the tanker Exxon Valdez hit a reef, spilling 11 million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound.
So - although I don't want to come across as too pessimistic, the Nisshin Maru will probably be heading to the Southern Ocean again later this year, despite official IWC criticism of Japan's "Scientific Whaling" programme. So our work must continue...
