KeikoTokyo comments

& if crazy Komura is totally innocent of doing any thing wrong, & the collision was the fault of the Ady Gil giving all evidence to the indepenant AMSA inquiry would have proved this to the rest of the world, would it not? By refusing to co-operate not only made the inquiry pointless, it also showed Komuras guilt, just as a guilty party does not take the stand at their own trial for fear that their own evidence will prove their guilt.

Heda Madness:"What it does prove is that the icr have always accepted that the AG was sitting idle before the incident."

Then if the Ady Gil was at idle, & the Shonan Maru 2 made a parallel course, & did not change it, then how did the collision occur Heda?

Heda Madness;"What it does prove is that the icr have always accepted that the AG was sitting idle before the incident."

It proves the Shonan Maru 2 was the vessel to approach the Ady Gil, & breaking maritime laws to do so as the Ady Gil had right of way, approaching a vessel from her port quarter without providing informtion, & not navigating safely. Therefore the SM2 needed to give way, & a wide berth, eg safe navigation. So by breaking all these rule & a collision occurs that makes the master of the SM2 culpable for the collision, & therefore should loose his ticket & face court for the destruction of another vessel. I am sure if SSCS sank a Japanese vessel, breaking maritime laws to do so we would see Japan jumping up & down to see justice done, so it should also be the other way.

Heda Madness;"Glenn Inwood, the spokesman for the Institute of Cetacean Research, said his information was the Ady Gil was idling in the water and then went ‘‘full steam ahead’’ to cut off Shonan Maru No.2."

Glenn Inwood at the 'institute of lies' also claimed to be part of the NZ government when he booked illegal spy flights out of Australia. He is paid to lie & make good press for the ICR, by the way Ossan has stated Glenn is not a spokesperson for the Shonan Maru 2 as it is a JCG vessel, not a whaling vessel.

The "full steam ahead" you speak of is at the very last fraction of a second, by that point the collision was inevitable. & as the Ady Gil accelerated the Shonan Maru 2 then changed course again to make sure of the kill. It can be clearly seen in the video from the Bob Barker.

"The Nisshin Maru lacks the ice strength and hull construction of most boats in polar waters. Cruise reports submitted to the International Whaling Commission by the Institute of Cetacean Research show the ship routinely travels through icebergs and loose pack ice."

& as for vessels not up to standard for Antarctic waters;"A vital vessel to the Japanese whaling fleet may be barred from the Antarctic as the United Nations International Maritime Organization tightens shipping regulations.

The Nisshin Maru doesn't meet three safety measures that will apply to Antarctic waters, according to an investigation by The Sydney Morning Herald. The new rules ban the whaling ship’s heavy fuel oil, require doubled hull strength instead of the ship's single hull, and will further forbid vessels from dumping thousands of tons of debris at sea."

http://www.takepart.com/news/2009/07/20/new-imo-rules-may-force-japanese-whalers-out

Ossan;"They were engaing the mother ship preior to moving away and sitting in idle. The SM2's job is to chase them away. It approached the AG with water canons to force the AG to move away (further from the whaking fleet)."

But they were approaching from the rear, with the fleet ahead, so from this angle they would have chased the AG towards the J-fleet.

Ossan;"the ady gil, a vessel immensely faster than the SM2 sat idle as the SM2 approached from a distance."

Glad to see you admit the Ady Gil was at idle, & it was the Shonan Maru 2 that approached from the port quarter, something that is against maritime rules, unless the master of the vessel communicates & provides his intentions & course to the stand to vessel,(the Ady Gil). So are you saying the captain of the Shonan Maru 2 complied with maritime rules on this?

"They were engaing the mother ship preior to moving away and sitting in idle. The SM2's job is to chase them away. It approached the AG with water canons to force the AG to move away (further from the whaking fleet)."

Glad to see you admit the Shonan Maru 2 changed course to intercept the Ady Gil, despite the fact the whaling fleet had passed. So now you admit the SM2 changed course & ran down the AG, from a position that is ILLEGAL in maritime laws, thus making the master of the SM2, crazy Komura culpable for the collision. & if he just wanted them to move away from the J-fleet why go after the AG, seeing that the Bob Barker was actually closer to the J-fleet, so if its job was to protect the fleet then the Bob Barker would have been of greater concern, yes?

Ossan;"Stiull can't distinguish fire extinguishers and pepper spray?"

Oh so you are saying that despite the collision alarms sounding, LRAD's going off, & a SSCS vessel in close proximity the whalers decided this would be a good time to go on deck & test out our fire extinguishers??? Funny to how the sailor in court described wearing the face shield, the exact same one that was worn when they shot themselves with pepper spray, yet in all the other footage, SSCS, ICR, & Animal Planet at no other stage at all does a whaler wear a face shield? Hmm coincidence again? I think not. & by the way at no time has the ICR stated they were testing fire fighting gear either, it has only been you to state this!

arrestpaul;"Then they kicked him out. Good riddence to bad rubbish."

This from someone who was stating how he would be spending 10-15 in jail? Is this your easy cop-out now?

"The pirate at the helm could have put the AG in reverse and accelerated away from the path of the SM2 but he didn't. Oops."

Or maybe 1 of the 5 at watch on the Shonan Maru 2,(shown in all still shots, 3 different levels of elevation, including person in the crow tower), could have passed on the information, we are to close, we are going to collide, but then seeing they could all clearly see,(note the binoculars in hand), the crew of the Ady Gil was on deck, so took the cheap shot, & rammed a boat 10 times smaller than it, with the intent of destroying it. So the captain of the Shonan Maru 2 could have abided by the rules of the sea to avoid the collision? Especially considering he was over taking a vessel from its port quarter, which mean the Ady Gil had right of way, & when passing a vessel from the port quarter the master MUST communicate, & give the other vessel its intentions & course. Are you saying the captain of the Shonan Maru 2 communicated to the Ady Gil its course & intentions?

Ossan;"The master of the SM2 attempted (and actually succeeded) in bringing his vessel in a parallel course with the idling AG. This ids a fact which is stated in the Australian Maritime and Safety Agency Investigation"

At NO point in the AMSA report does it state this! & glad to see you now admit the Ady Gil was at idle, not zooming along.

"The only misjudgement on the part of the SM2 Master was that he probably did not expect the AG to put her throttles into forward and accelerate accross the path of the SM2's bow."

If they were in parallel course as you have stated how did the Ady Gil accelerate 'across' the bow of the Shonan Maru 2? You just stated they had a parallel course!

"the one shot from the Bob Barker does not show the SM2 "turning to starboard". It shows the SM2 going down from the waves then coming up closer to the AG, which SS supporters mistakingly believe is a turn to starboard. Had it actually been a turn to starboard the direction of the SM2's bow would have been different when it comeds up from the wabe. It isn't, meaning the bearing is unchanged. So I remind you again, the AMSA having looked at all the videos has concluded that no one vessel was at fault. Get over it."

You have stated the Shonan Maru 2 turned to port just before the collision, did you draw that conclusion from the listing to starboard of the Shonan Maru 2? Then it is also correct to state from the moments clearly seen of the Shonan Maru 2 listing to port as it came around onto the Ady Gil. This list is clearly seen not just as it comes off a wave, but is clear all the way through the video. Also the bearing of the Shonan Maru can be seen to change as it come though the waves. The AMSA report NEVER stated that no vessel was at fault, it stated due to the lack of evidence because of the Japanese authorities lack of co-operation with the investigation it could not come to a conclusion. So just as a guilty party never gives evidence at their own trial nor did the Japanese give evidence, once again showing the guilt. If the Captain of the Shonan Maru 2 was not to blame then all the GPS, course tracker etc from the Shonan Maru 2 would have shown this. Surely the Japanese Coast Guard if not guilty would have loved to present this evidence to an independant investigation proving the innocence to the world, & also then giving Australian authorities the chance to act on it against SSCS, considering the Japanese gov requested SSCS be investigated by the AFP.

Ossan;"Have you ever seen me post anything against Greenpeace? Or WWF? Or any other so-called "conservationist organization" other than Sea Shepherd?"

Ah YES, you quite often blame WWF for the global moratorium on whaling in your comments :)

Funny to how you never mention any of Greenpeaces boardings of vessels?

"Good on Pete Bethune. He's the epitome of a good rugged Kiwi bloke prepared to put himself on the line for what he believes.

You have to admire someone who is prepared to risk his life and liberty for a cause."

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10657917

"that this wasn't a criminal case: it was a politically motivated action by the whalers to silence the protests against their crimes. Let the Japanese defend their whaling actions in a court of law."

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10657917

"Though the industry has consistently refuted Pilleri's statistics, similar figures from other sources are just as bleak. According to the Russian cetologist Awenir G. Tomilin, out of 118 dolphins of nine species being kept at the oceanarium of Enoshima, Japan, between 1957 and 1965, 118 died, including 18 which had swallowed foreign objects. Similarly, as Dr Susan-Jane Owen revealed in her 1984 report for Greenpeace, between 1972-1982 Japan captured 647 dolphins for 27 aquaria, of which only 293 still survived."

http://www.iridescent-publishing.com/rtm/ch4p1.htm

Moleiner;"One species is truly endangered, the other is not."

Please check the CITES website, they are both considered endangered, just because Japan chooses to ignore this does not mean it is not so.

Ossan;"Anyone who thinks that any anti-whaling protester is going to put themselves into Japanese jurisdiction, or even follow Watson's orders to do so, after Bethune has become an example of what can happen, is sadly deluded."

From my understanding SSCS has volunteers queing up for the chance to stand up for the whales & what they believe in. I wonder if any of the Japanese crew have the same convictions to what they do, you know go down & hunt whales without pay, or enter Australian waters because they believe in what they are doing is legal & just?

Ossan;"Mexico is a much larger source of captive dolphins, and even the Salomon Islands is a source as the captive dolphin trade is legal in the United States."

Actually the Soloman Islands has stopped trading live dolphins;" Man who trained killer SeaWorld whale turns his back on dolphin trade April 14, 2010

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Solomon Islands villagers and a notorious dolphin "slave trader" have agreed to stop hunting and harvesting dolphins for the lucrative international dolphin trade."

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/whale-watch/man-who-trained-killer-seaworld-whale-turns-his-back-on-dolphin-trade-20100414-scw6.html

& as for Maxico selling wild dolphins to America then they would be breaking American laws, as it is ILLEGAL to sell live dolphins in America.

"Between 1938 and 1980, the USA took a minimum of 1500 live dolphins from the sea, and in the last ten years, Japan alone has captured 500 dolphins for various amusement parks."

You will note how it stops in 1980, where laws were passed to protect wild dolphins. Now days the dolphins in shows in America are born in captivity, NOT captured from the wild.

Also for seemed to have left out the next part of the sentence?"Between 1938 and 1980, the USA took a minimum of 1500 live dolphins from the sea, and in the last ten years, Japan alone has captured 500 dolphins for various amusement parks."

So in 42 years America took 1500, yet in 10 years japan has taken over 500, so which country took more per annum, simple maths, but I guess that is why you left that part out, right?

& from the same article you posted Ossan;"Whatever efforts are deployed, the keeping of cetaceans in captivity will always pose problems because of the inherent contradiction on which it is based: the keeping in cramped conditions of creatures which are accustomed to vast open spaces."

By;cetacean specialist Professor Giorgio Pilleri, Director of the Brain Anatomy Institute of the University of Berne, Switzerland

Also says;"Dolphin circuses, like their counterparts under the big top, like to portray their animals as well-adjusted beings displaying nothing but the most natural of behaviour. But in reality, little could be more unnatural than a captive dolphin, if only because from the moment of capture, every single individual must be kept afloat by injections of synthetic vitamins, broad spectrum antibiotics, fungicides and hormones. Without them, they would live no longer than a few days, succumbing to infections and malignant parasites as stress ravages their natural immunity. Indeed, once captured and confined, most dolphins will never again escape their nightmare world of stress, insecurity and neurosis except through the merciful release of death. Apart from the devastating trauma of capture, there is the inherent stress of confinement itself, which reduces highly-evolved dolphin society into a primitive pecking order, with the stronger and more aggressive animals not only fighting each other for supremacy but also hounding the weaker ones into submission, illness or death. Besides the tyranny of their own companions, there is also the tyranny of the show-master, the stress of performing to the crowds five times a day, and rigorous training methods of food deprivation and reward which can only incite further stress and jealousy among the captives. Indeed, recent studies in the United States suggest that an inordinate number of captive dolphins are succumbing to typical stress-related illnesses such as heart attacks and gastric ulcers. It can hardly be sheer coincidence that virtually identical disorders affect millions of human beings forced to endure tedious and repetitive menial work."

So it is not just Ric O'Barry saying this, but many experts/professors who have spent lifetimes studying this.

I would have thought a nation with a greater population, & less positions for trainers, rather than a smaller population with more positions, would create a higher degree of requirements & training from the first example, as there is more demand for higher standards. Sorry Zenny11 you asked the question.

P.S. By the way I am still waiting for your answer to the question asked of you of your statement about the two countries considering removal of SSCS registration of vessels?

Zenny11, you seem to have ignored the fact that Greenpeace pulled out of Antarctic protests stating;"due to increasingly violent tactics used by Japanese whalers", eg the ramming of Greenpeace vessels, & this is long before SSCS entered Antarctic waters. So other organisations have also stated Japanese whalers violent tactics. Now they have gotten away scott-free sinking a SSCS vessel, do you think they will refrain from violent tactic in the Antarctic this year? Knowing they can hide under the skirt of the Japanese government? Also it would pay to remember at the begining of last years season how Glenn Inwood broke Australian laws to get the position of the SSCS fleet, also impersonated a NZ gov minister in doing so. Then once the Shonan Maru 2 was on the tail of the Steve Irwin tried to blow the helicopter off the aft deck threatening the lives of many in doing so, is that not a violent action? Remebering the Shonan Maru 2 was behind the Steve Irwin, so was the agressor in the situation.

Not so Zenny11, yes Japan has more dolphin parks than any other country, but that does not make them the most experienced in the world, & quite honestly I do not know were you draw that assumption! If they were the greatest dolphin trainers them I am sure they would have a better reason for this unfortunate incident other than,"not sure why he dd it, but he is ok, that is why we put mats around the tank, to protect them when they do", therefore animals kept there have done this previously, if they were such great experts they would then treat the cause, not just put mats around the tank for when they do, would they not?

Zenny11, you may not know this but Ric O'Barry was the original dolphin trainer, & the one who all these others have learnt how to train dolphins from his methods. A man who has spent his whole life with dolphins, both captive & wild, a man who is that devoted to them rather than make money as other do he spends his time bringing the mistreatment of them to public view. & for the record many over the years have tried to bring the plight of Taiji dolphins to the attention of the world, all have been assulted & brutalized by the 'fishermen', & none have given up the fight to bring this to public view, it has just taken many times, & by many different people to get it out.

bubzabub;"If they care so much about dolphins, why don't they protest what's going on in their own countries? Focus locally and let Japanese do as we wish!'

First off Japan is the main supplier for captive dolphins world wide, this is were the dolphin hunters of Taiji make their money, & why they do not want to stop, not because of tradition, unless of course you can show how they used to capture dolphins & sell them around the world live centuries ago?

Zenny11;"So if Japan has more marine-parks than the USA and EU combined, shouldn't they have MORE experience & expertise than a trainer from a decade old series."

Would not someone who has spent there whole life working with these animals, both captive & in the wild have FAR more knowledge of the subject than someone in their 20's who has just been shown how to make a dolphin jump through a hoop?

"So far I have failed to see ONE documentary on Discovery or Animal Planet saying bad things about Japanese sea-parks, they rather praise them."

then check out the National Geographic documentary "When Dolphins Cry", shot in 2003, showing not only the Taiji hunts, but also Izumi Ishii, who was the head of the hunts in Futo, & how he has changed that hunt into a dolphin/whale watching industry.

wawawasuremono;"Just a coincidence that a dolphin/whale show, the kind of entertainment that is spread throughout the western being made of an example of animal cruelty happened to be a Japanese establishment right?"

Umm NO! Considering the fact Japan has more of these parks than the US & Europe combined! & you probably do not read about all the protests held overseas, like the Miami Seaquarium, where protests are held every month! Or Sea World, were today there is a protest being held,(do not think it will rate a mention in J-media though). Maybe you remember hearing about a trainer being killed by a killer whale in the US recently? Well outrage/petitions/protests are still going regarding this to this very day, & an organised effort to see these parks shut down in the US & EU. So you think it is just Japan! NO WAY sunshine.

NationalistRE;"Yes, it's all just a coincidence ole'boy. Just like the fact that SS only goes after Japanese whalers out of all the environmental causes they could take up."

Japan puts itself in the firing line by hunting 1/2 way around the world, in a designated sanctuary, so therefore poaching illegally, & tries to lie to the rest of the world that it is 'scientific research'! Gee I wonder why we get targeted! If these hunts were carried out in our own waters, as other whaling nations do, do you really think SS would be here protesting the hunts?

Wonder if the video of the 2 Japanese whalers shooting themselves in the face with pepper spray on the same exact day & time got shown in court? Congratulations Pete on your release, am sure there will be quite a welcoming party at Aukland airport for you.

If Japan hunted within its own waters then the JCG would have authority, if they choose to hunt in international waters, or other countries water, then of course there are going to be problems, & as I have stated previously as long as we hunt in Antarctic waters more people, just like Peter Bethune, are going to protest & try & block it to protect the whales. So also as I have stated I do not think this is the last of these cases we will see.

Molenir, the information comes direct from he ICR, you can see it there on their website, as for;"Sei, or Humpback whales are endangered?", maybe you should then check the CITES website. That is the organisation that checks the trade of 'endangered species'.

gogogo;"Don't confused the facts, Japan takes Minke whales from Antarctica not Sei whales."

Don't confuse the facts, Japan does take Sei whales from the Antarctic, just where do you think the Sei whale meat that was sold in Tokyo, then meat with the exact same DNA,(ergo the same whale) was then sold in A Korean, & US restaurant came from? (Even Ossan,& davidattokyo admit to this). Also if you look at the hunt carne you will see Humpbacks on there, both Sei whales, & Humpbacks are endangered, & this is why you will continue to see more activists just like Peter Bethune down in Antarctic waters protest Japans senseless hunts. & just like Peter I am sure they will be willing to spend some time in jail for what they believe in. I wonder if the Japanese whalers have this same commitment & belief in what they do?

Just a couple of people missing from Pete's welcome home party in NZ, Hiroyuki Komura, & of course our favourite Kiwi, davidattokyo :)

Bet there is a kick ass party going on right now in the land of the long white cloud :)

Zenny11;"Enough of people trying to tell others how to live their lifes, who to worhsip, etc didn't work for millenia and"

So why should Japan pressure other countries to strike vessels of their register? if this is truely your belief?