MY Bob Barker
MY Bob Barker in port (Hobart, 2010). | |
| Career (Norway) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | Pol XIV |
| Owner: | Hvalfangerselskap Polaris A/S |
| Port of registry: | Larvik, Norway |
| Builder: | Fredriksstad MV |
| Yard number: | 333[1] |
| In service: | 1950-66 |
| Notes: | Operated as a whaler until 1962[2] |
| Career (Norway) | |
| Name: | Volstad Jr. |
| Owner: | Einar Volstad PR |
| Port of registry: | Ålesund, Norway |
| In service: | 1966-97 |
| Career (Norway) | |
| Name: | Verdi |
| Owner: | Lafjord Rederi A/S |
| Port of registry: | Bergen, Norway |
| In service: | 1997-98 |
| Career (Norway) | |
| Name: | Volstad Jr. |
| Owner: | Lafjord Rederi A/S |
| Port of registry: | Bergen, Norway |
| In service: | 1998-2004[3] |
| Career (Cook Islands) | Cook Islands flag |
| Name: | Polaris |
| Owner: | Seven Sea Sg Inc |
| Port of registry: | Rarotonga, Cook Islands |
| In service: | 2005-09 |
| Career | Togo flag |
| Name: | M/Y Bob Barker |
| Owner: | Sea Shepherd Conservation Society |
| Port of registry: | Togo registry withdrawn as of February 2010 |
| Laid down: | 1950[2] |
| In service: | 2009-10 |
| Identification: | IMO number: 5280540[4] |
| Status: | Re-Flagged to the Netherlands |
| Career (The Netherlands) |  |
| Name: | M/Y Bob Barker |
| Owner: | Sea Shepherd Conservation Society |
| Port of registry: | Rotterdam, Netherlands |
| In service: | 2010-present |
| Status: | Active as of 2010 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Whaler[5] |
| Displacement: | 801 tonnes (788 long tons)[4] |
| Length: | 52.2 m (171 ft)[2] |
| Beam: | 9 m (30 ft)[1] |
| Speed: | 20+ Knots |
| Complement: | 20-40 |
The MY Bob Barker is a ship owned by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, named for former television game show host Bob Barker, whose donation of $5 million to the society facilitated purchase of the ship.[6] It first started operating for the group in late 2009 / early 2010 in its campaign against whaling by Japanese fisheries.
History
Overview
Bob Barker is described as a "long range fast ice" vessel of 801 tonnes (788 long tons) (or 1,200 t (1,200 long tons) according to some other references).[4][5] It was built in Norway in 1950 as the whale chaser Pol XIV, but was deleted from the Norwegian ship registry in 2004, and sold to a Cook Islands registry concern.[4][3] It was eventually purchased by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and refitted in Africa. It now carries a helicopter named after Nancy Burnet of United Activists for Animal Rights.
On 19 February 2010, Japanese officials stated that the Bob Barker's Togo registry had been withdrawn.[7] In response, Sea Shepherd claimed that it had not been notified by the Togolese government of any change in the Bob Barker's registration status.[8] On May 24, 2010, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society claimed that Bob Barker was registered under the Dutch flag.[9]
Sea Shepherd operations
After its African refit, Bob Barker departed Mauritius on 18 December 2009 to join up with the MY Steve Irwin and MY Ady Gil, the two other Sea Shepherd vessels.[10] One of its first actions was to take video footage of the collision between the Ady Gil and a Japanese security vessel, after which it took aboard the crew from the stricken Sea Shepherd craft.[11]
On 6 February 2010, while obstructing the slip-way of the Nisshin Maru factory ship, Bob Barker collided with the Yu-shin Maru No. 3, resulting in a 3-foot-4-inch (1.02 m) gash in the Bob Barker's hull above the waterline. The Institute of Cetacean Research reported minor damage to a handrail and to the hull of its ship.[12][13] Both Sea Shepherd and the ICR accused the other of intentionally causing the crash.[12][14]
On 25 February 2010, Sea Shepherd reported that the Bob Barker, which had been following the whaling fleet after the Steve Irwin broke off pursuit to return to port, was suffering from a fuel valve problem and would be returning to port, ending the organisation's operations for the 2009-2010 whaling season.[8][15]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Single Ship Report for "5280540"". Miramar Ship Index. http://www.miramarshipindex.org.nz/ship/show?nameid=304099&shipid=58625. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Our Fleet - M/Y Bob Barker". Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. 5 June 2010. http://www.seashepherd.org/matilda/our-fleet.html.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Sea Shepherd kom med norsk flagg" (in Norwegian). Norsk rikskringkasting AS. 8 January 2010. http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/verden/1.6937309. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "ID 5280540". Miramar Ship Index. http://www.miramarshipindex.org.nz/ship/list?IDNo=5280540&search_op=OR. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Cohen, Sandy (5 January 2010). "Bob Barker Helps Stop Whaling With Namesake Ship". ABC News. http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=9486948. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
- ↑ Itzkoff, Dave (6 January 2010). "Bob Barker, Whale Pal". New York Times (The New York Times Company). http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/07/arts/television/07arts-BOBBARKERWHA_BRF.html. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
- ↑ "Detained antiwhaling activist in good health: Okada". Kyodo News International. 19 February 2010. http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/3879821. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (23 February 2010). "Sea Shepherd Update: Bob Barker Continues Pursuit of Japanese Whaling Fleet". Press release. http://www.seashepherd.org/news-and-media/news-100223-1.html. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
- ↑ Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (24 May 2010). "The Bob Barker Goes Dutch". Press release. http://www.seashepherd.org/news-and-media/news-100524-1.html. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
- ↑ Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (5 January 2010). "The Time is Right for Bob Barker to Rescue the Whales". Press release. http://www.seashepherd.org/news-and-media/news-100105-1.html. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
- ↑ Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (5 January 2010). "Japanese Whalers Ram Sea Shepherd Ship Ady Gil". Press release. http://www.seashepherd.org/news-and-media/news-100105-4.html. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Violence Escalates in Southern Ocean Whaling Battle". Environment News Service. 6 February 2010. http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/feb2010/2010-02-06-01.html. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
- ↑ "Anti-whaling vessel hit again". The New Zealand Herald. 7 February 2010. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10624662. Retrieved 13 February 2010.
- ↑ "Watson to whalers: We will never surrender". The Japan Times. 9 February 2010. http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20100209zg.html. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
- ↑ Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (25 February 2010). "Sea Shepherd Ships Complete Operations in Southern Ocean for 2010". Press release. http://www.seashepherd.org/news-and-media/news-100225-2.html. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
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