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Japanese Whaler On Fire In Antarctic

Sea Shepherd has quit, but drama goes on

The flagship of the Japanese whaling operations, the 8000 ton NISSHIN MARU is reported to be on fire in the Antarctic.

According to Cetacean Research which carries out the research whaling it broke out early in the hours of Thursday 15 February. One crew member has gone missing.

The Director-General of the Institute of Cetacean Research, said: "It is our priority at this stage to locate the missing sailor. We are unsure whether he is still on board the Nisshin Maru or whether someone happened during the evacuation of the vessel.

20 people remained on the vessel to deal with the fire whilst 142 took to other vessels.

The fire is believed to have started in the engine room and latest reports indicate it has been contained there.

The incident is unconnected to recent operations by Sea Shepherd in the area. The environmental organisation's ships quit the area and harrassing the Japanese whalers on Wednesday, due to a lack of fuel.

The fire incident is almost a repeat of history. In 1998 the NISSHIN MARU caught fire in the Antarctic. At the time she was a new vessel, the first new whaler built in years in Japan. One crew member died and Greenpeace activists were criticised for vandalising the crippled vessel when she got to Noumea Port in New Caledonia .

Japan says the whaling mission is done for research purposes to determine the population of whales, but critics point out that hundreds of tons of the whale meat is then sold on to the Japanese public and that calling this 'research' is just a front for whaling activity.