Greenpeace Vessel Seeking to Block Whaling Collides With Japanese Ship

A Greenpeace ship and a Japanese whaling vessel collided Tuesday off Antarctica in the most serious incident since the environmental group began a campaign a week ago to stop the whale hunt.

The Japanese ship Nisshin Maru No. 3 sustained minor damage to its handrails, but the Greenpeace ship Gondwana was not damaged, Greenpeace spokesman Peter Wilkinson said. There were no injuries, he said, speaking by radio telephone from the Gondwana.

In Sydney, the Greenpeace coordinator for Antarctica, Lyn Goldsworthy, said the Japanese ship had attached a grappling hook to the 1,435-ton Gondwana, which has a crew of 19, to pull it out of the way, and that “in the maneuvering that resulted, the Japanese boat collided with the Gondwana.”

In Tokyo, a whaling official said Tuesday that attempts by the environmental group to block the whale hunt are endangering the lives of crewmen.

“This is terrorism, the same as that opposed by the United States and other countries,” said Takehiro Takayama of the Tokyo-based Japan Whaling Assn. “They have no concern about human life.”

Japan has said it plans to take 300 whales this year as part of its scientific research to determine the size of whale stocks.

Greenpeace contends that the research is an attempt to circumvent a moratorium on commercial whaling imposed by the International Whaling Commission and that most of the whale meat will end up in sushi restaurants in Japan.

Wilkinson estimated that Japanese harpooners have already taken between 50 and 55 Minke whales this season, about 10 of them since the Gondwana caught up with the whaling fleet a week ago.