Whaler ship cuts USS PETA Batboat in two

[indy007]

Clearly though, ramming a smaller ship on purpose is using deadly force.

And actively trying to leave crews stranded in the middle of the Pacific is not.. ?

[Fishu]

LOL ... too funny ... If one cannot tell that the Japanese ship deliberately turned into the Ady Gil after looking at both film viewpoints ... you should go see an eye doctor.

The Ady Gil did appear to move into the Japanese boat ... ONLY when it realized that it was going to be rammed and tried to gun it to possibly get out of the way.

My eyes are just fine for the video, but you need to also think three dimensionally to figure out what's actually going on. The camera (on the video from ahead) is not sitting still on the ocean, but moving diagonally across the path of the whaler. If there'd be anything in the background you would see it's simply the constant change of perspective giving the illusion of the whaler turning to right.

Towards the end of the whaler's video you can see there's no zig-zaging in the wake. Any intentional turn to right would have been visible on the wake before the wake begins to turn left.

[Vulcan]

they are researching (hunting) in an internationally defined conservation zone ... but it is only the Sea Shepards that give a rats arse.

and what happens when sea shepherd create an accident that ends up spilling pollutants into the southern ocean?

[DREDger]

The camera (on the video from ahead) is not sitting still on the ocean, but moving diagonally across the path of the whaler. If there'd be anything in the background you would see it's simply the constant change of perspective giving the illusion of the whaler turning to right.

I know what you are trying to say but you're incorrect.  When looking at the video from ahead, you see the whaler make a turn to starboard, then straighten out, then ram, then continue straight.

If this turn was an optical illusion due to the camera moving from left to right (relative to camera), you would not see the whale boat straighten out, you would continue to see the port side of the whale boat.

This, in conjunction with the camera on the whaler, shows an intentional turn to port in order to ram the batboat by the whaler.

One can argue that these batboat guys had it coming, I've got to admit I snickered at the video myself. 

But it is intellectually disengenuous to claim it was anything other than an intentional ram only because you empathize with the whalers.

[2ADoc]

I do not agree with the what the whalers are doing, they are destroying a resorce and killing endangered animals.  Shame on them.  On the other hand there has to be a better way to stop it than to have these P.E.T.A. incompitent idots out there endangering lives, and littering the seas with their sunken boats.  I do not like PETA when they start painting Fur coats because they dont agree with someone for buying one they are infringing on the rites of the common person, and THAT is going to get one of them shot.  Then they have a Soap box to get on and HARP about how eveil meat eaters and fur wears are.  I guarentee that if they spray paint my moms full length mink coat, she will drop that PETA person in their tracks, with 2 well placed rounds.  The group PETA is gaining members, and support it will not be long before they level their sights on the Beef industry, they have already tried to attack the chicken industry. 

My .02

[allaire]

Any one who takes the video that was shot from the other Sea Shepherd's boats as fact are deluded.  If you think that these extremist wouldn't endanger lives to save the precious animals, then you need to have a reality check.  As others have said watch the rear of the batboat.  You will see that the gun their engines.  But you say they were trying to avoid getting rammed, well since the boat was basically still in the water why did they not put the engines in reverse or cut hard to starboard then try to not get hit.  The fact of the matter is that some of these nuckleheads are members of ALF, or just don't give a rat's fart about human life as long as the precious animals are ok then they are in the right.

As for the Japanese doing something we find morally wrong.  They are whaling using a loophole in international laws and treaties, which is that you can take whales for research only.  The Japanese are whaling under the guise of research and once they are done with their "research" they move the carcass to processing ship so they don't have to dump it.  How nice that they aren't polluting the ocean with dead whales.  

I don't like what the Japanese whalers are doing but I absolutely despise what the ecoterrorist are doing.  Below is a video of the oh so noble animal rights "activists" trying to "avoid" another collision.

Video of the Steve Irwin ramming one of the Japanese vessels.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_b_IYQMSvM

[PFactorDave]

Those Japanese researchers (yeah right ... I got a bridge for sale too) are destroying one of the most valuable resources on the planet

How are whales a "resource" if they cannot be harvested?  It seems to me, that if you are going to consider the animals a resource...  Well...  They're worthless as long as they are swimming and only become valuable when killed and turned into products... 

I can understand protecting the animals simply for the sake of preventing extinction...  But resource implies harvest...  Just saying...

[SlapShot]

If this turn was an optical illusion due to the camera moving from left to right (relative to camera), you would not see the whale boat straighten out, you would continue to see the port side of the whale boat.

This, in conjunction with the camera on the whaler, shows an intentional turn to port in order to ram the batboat by the whaler.

Exactly ... nor would you see that wave explode on the port side of the whaler as it turned hard to starboard for a collision course ... had it been going straight, that wave would have dispersed on both sides of the boat.

[SlapShot]

As others have said watch the rear of the batboat.  You will see that the gun their engines.  But you say they were trying to avoid getting rammed, well since the boat was basically still in the water why did they not put the engines in reverse or cut hard to starboard then try to not get hit.

LOL ... the Ady Gil is 75 ft long ... boats that size don't turn on a dime like a Boston Whaler ... the Sea Shepards are a bunch of incompetent fools playing in an arena in which they are not very good at. Yes, throwing it in reverse would have been the better decision, but as you can see they gun the engines forward and try to turn to the starboard side ... but getting a 78 ft boat (a trimaran at that) to turn that quick just ain't gonna happen ... it will go straight before the thrust and the rudders take effect to start a coordinated turn.

It was an incident caused by two incompetent captains who should never be allowed to captain a boat ever again.

[SlapShot]

How are whales a "resource" if they cannot be harvested?  It seems to me, that if you are going to consider the animals a resource...  Well...  They're worthless as long as they are swimming and only become valuable when killed and turned into products... 

I can understand protecting the animals simply for the sake of preventing extinction...  But resource implies harvest...  Just saying...

They are a resource to the world's oceans ... they cause balance within the oceans.

I'm sure your boss considers you a resource to the company ... let me know when I can come and harvest you.

[Vulcan]

Just to keep things in perspective, the sea shepherd guys had a habit of failing to obey the right of way rules and appear to have regularly cut across the bows of the whalers fairly close towing ropes:



So this may have been another one of those attempts but poorly judged.

Sure the whalers sailed close, but the SS guys kept putting themselves there and aggressively attacked the whalers (I'd count trying to disable to props of a ship in the southern ocean as an attack, it's the last place you'd want to find yourself with no power).

[FTJR]

Nuclear testing is a dangerous buisness and it is true that the protest was valid. However when they were planning on violating a military installation and holding up important military resources and research of a country under constant threat of invasion (NATO Soviet Invasion Scenario) you can see the logic supporting the removal of the Rainbow Warrior.

Their intention was to sink a boat, not murder someone. Although I do not condone or accept the death of an innocent man I think the French were within their rights and showed tactical sense in their actions.

They (The French) were not at war with anyone. What they did was tantamount to invading a Neutral, if not friendly (Western, Democratic) Country.

[bj229r]

diddly YOU DOLFEEEEEN AND WHHHAAALLEEEE!

[Fishu]

If this turn was an optical illusion due to the camera moving from left to right (relative to camera), you would not see the whale boat straighten out, you would continue to see the port side of the whale boat.

The ship ahead is not moving fast enough to keep directly ahead of the turning whaler, once it actually turns. Regardless of the movement of the camera the left turn appears much harder than the alleged right turn. The movement of the camera makes the left turn look even less hard than it is.

[DrDea]

 If you cant see the morons werent looking to get a you tube clip your a bigger moron than they are. Wow. Talk about colossal failure.