Drama On High Seas As Japanese Hold Hostages

A shot of the two activists on board the whaler, taken by colleagues from
the Sea Shepherd. Photo: Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

Two crew members of the Sea Shepherd ship, the Steve Irwin, were captured and lashed to a railing aboard a Japanese whaler after boarding the ship with a letter protesting about the whale hunt.

The captain of the Japanese ship, the Yashin Maru No 2 is at last report refusing to release the men.

The two, Australian Benjamin Potts, and Briton, Giles Lane, were alleged by the Japanese to have boarded the vessel after trying to entangle the ship’s propellers with ropes and throwing acid on the decks.

One report says that the men were first tied to the rails of the ship, and at one stage were in freezing water up to their waists.

The drama is part of the latest of an series of clashes between the fleet and the Sea Shepherd group over the past few years.

Australian federal Police are investigating the incident, and the Australian Government has asked the Japanese Government for the mens’ release.

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