Breaking news from the whale wars

[mike_s]

It's hard to say who is more at fault here. It appears to me that the protesters placed themselves in harms way.

Exactly. !

The water hoses being used fore and aft indicates the mindset of the whaling crew aboard.

mindset?

It indicates that they were trying to propel boarders and someone who was trying to overtake and stop their ship by fouling their propellers.

It's the same thing that crews off Somalia do to try to stop pirates from boarding their ships.

attacking a ship at seas is piracy. it doesn't matter if whaling is right or not.

Does anyone know if the Whaler stopped to offer assistance? It seems that they were only interested in using a high-pressure hose on the possibly injured crew...

the statements I saw... no. but honestly I don't blame them.

Why would you stop to pick up a crew that is attacking your boat? I doubt anyone would

besides the Ady Gil had a "mothership" just ahead of them. (remember the other video was shot from that.)

Where conflict exists and tempers run high, it's not unlikely that once baited the whaling ship didn't make the effort to avoid the other vessel. It's human nature to think enough is enough.

Exactly.

 

[letterboy]

maybe the whalers should turn the harpoons onto the SS ships . . . I think that would be fun to watch . . .

Why are they using water cannons. . . The Japanese should hire Blackwater . . .

 

[DCBC]

Why would you stop to pick up a crew that is attacking your boat?

I would think for the same reason why you would stop and lend assistance to someone in a car accident. They could be at fault, but the law (at least in Canada) demands that you stop and lend assistance.

 

[DCBC]

The Japanese should hire Blackwater . . .

Or the protesters should... BTW, Blackwater changed its name to the U.S. Training Center.

 

[JKPAO]

The whalers are not looking (they are not looking to have a conversation with the SS group) to be confronted by anyone. They would like to do what they set out to do without harrassment. By thier own addmission the SS group went out to engage the said whalers.
The SS group said they threw stink bomb at the Japan whaler earlier that day. They have trailed ropes and nets to foul the props of the whale ship. .

Thier actions are to cause fear or to cause harm too. Period. Note it is for a good cause but does not release them from the fact it is terrorism. The captain that states the bat mobile was "dead in the water" is full of ship. The said boat was under way not making way.(USCG definition not mine) I have seen the same captain lie about being shot by the whalers. (on one of the whale war shows) He is willing to show false claims to forward his cause. The videos that were shown from the whale boat, and one from the SS groups' boat can be veiwed any way you want. The fact is that the whale boat does not turn as fast as the Idy Gal . If they turned to starboard (that is to the right) you can not make a call from video that is now available. You do not know that the camera (video) supplied by the SS group was stationary. You can surely see the bat mobile making way (under power) from the video supplied by the whalers. (contradition to what is claimed by the SS group)

If the captain of any vessel is willing to put in harms way the vessel or persons on the vessel they are acting as a terrorist. They should not be a captain, Plain and simple!
see you topside! John BTW Leave the whales alone!

 

[mike_s]

I would think for the same reason why you would stop and lend assistance to someone in a car accident. They could be at fault, but the law (at least in Canada) demands that you stop and lend assistance.

I agree if it was a real/true car accident.

but if someone came up beside me and swerved and hit my car 'in rage' and then wrecked... the last thing I'm going to do is to stop.

I could be just bringing on more terror to me and my family.

get a safe distance away and call the authorities. (in this case of international waters, not much they can do as 911 is not really an option. so they had to defend themselves the best way they knew how. remember we didn't see the first few hours of the video as to what other things were done to them).

 

[ScubaSteve]

I agree if it was a real/true car accident.

but if someone came up beside me and swerved and hit my car 'in rage' and then wrecked... the last thing I'm going to do is to stop.

I could be just bringing on more terror to me and my family.

get a safe distance away and call the authorities. (in this case of international waters, not much they can do as 911 is not really an option. so they had to defend themselves the best way they knew how. remember we didn't see the first few hours of the video as to what other things were done to them).

But we do see pictures taken at some point where it appears as though the SS group fired on the whaler....who knows for sure but it is likely IMO.

 

[DCBC]

If the captain of any vessel is willing to put in harms way the vessel or persons on the vessel they are acting as a terrorist. They should not be a captain, Plain and simple!

I agree, but I would add that if you can't make an effort to avoid a collision, you shouldn't be either. It's likely the Whaler Captain succumbed to human emotion and enjoyed ramming the vessel that had been causing him problems. Regardless, they both should act professionally.

 

[mike_s]

But we do see pictures taken at some point where it appears as though the SS group fired on the whaler....who knows for sure but it is likely IMO.

The SS group has already admitted (bragged is more like it) that they were lauching "foul odor grenades" at the whaler's deck.

that's prob what it was.

However, you see someone shoot something at your boat. You don't know it's just a stink grenade. I could definitely see the concern it could be some sort of incendiary device.

 

[Kevin Carlisle]

I agree, but I would add that if you can't make an effort to avoid a collision, you shouldn't be either. It's likely the Whaler Captain succumbed to human emotion and enjoyed ramming the vessel that had been causing him problems. Regardless, they both should act professionally.

If they acted professionally there would not be a show.