Japan's whaling fleet halted its Antarctic operations Wednesday and scrambled to arrange the turnover of two activists who boarded one of its harpoon ships after a tense, high-seas chase, accusing the Sea Shepherd conservation group of piracy.
The captain of the activists' ship meanwhile said the two were "hostages" and vowed to keep harassing the fleet.
"We will only accept an unconditional release," Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson said by satellite phone from the antiwhaling ship Steve Irwin. He said he wanted action immediately.