Editorial: Dangerous game on the high seas

EDITORIAL: DO not be surprised when the eyes of the global media descend on the Southern Ocean to document the dangerous conflict looming between Japanese whalers and anti-whaling activists.

DO not be surprised when the eyes of the global media descend on the Southern Ocean to document the dangerous conflict looming between Japanese whalers and anti-whaling activists.

A scary and worrying tension between the warring parties has been building for the past few years.

The world has already witnessed vessels being rammed on the high seas, water cannons dousing protesters, activists throwing stink bombs, and broken ships being towed back to the safety of harbour.

This summer the threat of a more serious, and potentially fatal, clash in the Southern Ocean has increased substantially.

In the past, the whalers have used water cannons to blast protesters and their vessels.

Now the Sea Shepherd activists are heading south armed with their own weapon, a high-speed vessel with water cannon capable of shooting 20,000 litres per minute. That is no small amount of water.

What happens when the disputing parties stage a water cannon battle thousands of kilometres offshore? What if someone is killed? What if a ship is sunk? What if ...?

Well, no one really knows because it has not happened before. It is new, uncharted territory.

However, a serious and sustained water-cannon clash between two vessels that are days away from medical or technical assistance promises to be as spectacular as it is inherently foolhardy and deadly dangerous.

Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies whaling spokeswoman Julia Jabour is vehemently opposed to Sea Shepherd’s protest tactics, arguing that they are simply too provocative, too impassioned and too dangerous. Many will agree with her, even some of those who strongly oppose continued whaling in the Southern Ocean.

Bob Brown contends that Sea Shepherd has the support of an international court ruling that the Japanese slaughter is illegal. Dr Brown says he has right on his side. The ruling certainly appears to back his claim. Tasmanians and Australians are well aware of Dr Brown’s level of personal commitment to his cause. He is widely regarded as the founding father of the green movement and the Greens Party in this country. When he believes in something, he is unrelenting and refuses to budge.

No doubt there will be hundreds of supporters in Hobart today and tomorrow, clambering aboard Sea Shepherd’s impressive new vessel, the Ocean Warrior. It boasts long-range fuel tanks, a helicopter landing pad and that big water cannon.

Most Australians, including this newspaper, want the slaughter of whales to stop. The question is how far we are prepared to stand by our belief.

The Japanese whalers must be held to account, but is it the duty of a protest group to protect the whales on the high seas? No one else seems willing.