SYDNEY/TOKYO (Kyodo) A high-tech "stealth" boat operated by the Sea Shepherd antiwhaling group was damaged Wednesday in a collision with a Japanese whaling fleet vessel in Antarctic waters, with each side blaming the other for the incident.
Paul Watson, head of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, told Kyodo News the Shonan Maru No. 2, a vessel sent by Japan to ensure the security of its whaling fleet, deliberately rammed his group's A$2 million (US$1.8 million) vessel Ady Gil and "sheared the bow right off."
"It ripped 8 feet (2.5 meters) of the front of the vessel off," Watson said. "At this point it does not look salvageable. It's taking on water."