Nisshin Maru
| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | Nisshin Maru |
| Owner: | Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha, Ltd.[1] |
| Port of registry: | Japan[2] |
| Laid down: | 1987[2] |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Whaler |
| Tonnage: | 8,030 gross register tons (GRT)[2] |
| Length: | 129.58 m (425 ft 2 in) o/a[2] |
| Beam: | 19.4 m (63 ft 8 in) (moulded)[2] |
The 23-year-old, 8,000-ton vessel Nisshin Maru (日新丸) is the largest ship of the Japanese whaling fleet. The ship is part of a six to seven ship fleet headed by research leader Shigetoshi Nishiwaki and is based in Japan in Shimonoseki harbor.[3] It is a converted stern trawler and is the world's only whale factory ship.[4] The ship is owned by Tokyo-based company Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha, which is subsidiary of the government-funded Institute of Cetacean Research.
Contents
2007 Antarctic voyage
A major fire in the ship's processing factory broke out on 15 February 2007 while in Antarctic waters. The resulting damage caused the ship to be temporarily disabled, all while continuing to carry approximately 1,000 tons of oil. This incident took place within the New Zealand Search and Rescue Region.[5] One person was killed in the fire.[6][7]
Citing environmental concerns, specifically the disabled ship's proximity to Cape Adare, Antarctica and the world's largest Adelie Penguin rookery, New Zealand Conservation Minister Chris Carter joined international citizens' groups in urgently requesting that the ship be towed away.[8] Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR), which administers the ship with the Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha, refused offers of a tow from the Greenpeace ship MV Esperanza, which had been nearby and monitoring the situation since 17 February. On 28 February, the ICR released a statement on its decision to cut short its Antarctic whale hunt for 2006/2007 due to unrecoverable equipment, and the Nisshin Maru departed for Japan.
Other incidents
The Nisshin Maru and Greenpeace's MV Arctic Sunrise collided in December 1999 and in January 2006. In 2006 both ships claimed to have been rammed by the other,[9] and the ICR posted video footage to support its version of the incident.[10] Greenpeace responded that the waves emanating from the MV Arctic Sunrise in the video support Greenpeace's contention that its vessel had its engines in reverse; Greenpeace also claimed the location of cloud formations in the background of the ICR video indicate the Nisshin Maru was turning into the Greenpeace ship at the time of collision.[9]
Sea Shepherd claimed its president Paul Watson was shot by someone on the Nisshin Maru during a confrontation with the MV Steve Irwin off Antarctica in 2008. An ICR spokesman acknowledged that seven flashbangs were thrown by the Nisshin Maru crew, but denied that there were any gunshots.[11]
New IMO regulations
New regulations from the United Nations International Maritime Organization due to take effect in July 2011 would make it illegal for the Nisshin Maru to operate while using heavy oil below 60 degrees south. This will most likely increase the cost of operating in the Southern Ocean. The new rules prohibit ships using heavy oil in the Antarctic treaty system area due to the risk to wildlife in the event of an oil spill.[4]
See also
- Antarctica
- Drawing Restraint 9
- Greenpeace
- Institute of Cetacean Research
- International Whaling Commission
- Oriental Bluebird
- Sea Shepherd
- Shōnan Maru 2
- Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary
- Whaling in Japan
- Yūshin Maru № 2
References
- ↑ "Nisshin Maru". ClassNK Register of Ships. http://www.classnk.or.jp/hp/register/regships/search.asp?lang=e&sname=nisshin%20maru#title. Retrieved 20 February 2007.[dead link]
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Lloyd's Register - Fairplay. Retrieved 20 February 2007
- ↑ "Protest as Japan whaling factory ship returns to port". AFP. 14 April 2009. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hKYWJEHVeSjNxcIvaNQ-vqL-NABw.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Darby, Andrew (18 July 2009). "New rules for safe shipping may save whales". The Sydney Morning Herald. http://www.smh.com.au/environment/whale-watch/new-rules-for-safe-shipping-may-save-whales-20090717-do9b.html.
- ↑ "Search and rescue", Aeronautical Information Publication New Zealand, 6 July 2006, http://www.aip.net.nz/pdf/GEN_3.6.pdf
- ↑ "Japanese whaling ship on fire off Antarctica". Reuters. 15 February 2007. http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKSYD30495820070215.
- ↑ "Japanese whaler may move, activists fear oil spill". Reuters. 21 February 2007. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUST15518220070221.
- ↑ "New Zealand demands Japan urgently move its stricken whaler from Antarctic coast". International Herald Tribune. 23 February 2007. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/02/23/asia/AS-GEN-Antarctica-Crippled-Whaler.php.[dead link]
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Greenpeace ship rammed by whalers". Greenpeace. http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/oceans/whaling/antarctic-whaling/ramming. Retrieved 19 February 2007.
- ↑ VIDEO TAKEN BY ICR : ARCTIC SUNRISE RAMMING THE NISSHIN-MARU. Institute of Cetacean Research. http://www.icrwhale.org/eng/GPAS2.mpg. Retrieved 3 March 2010.
- ↑ "Japan denies shooting anti-whaling captain". AAP. 8 March 2008. http://www.news.com.au/japan-denies-shooting-anti-whaling-captain/story-e6frfkp9-1111115745322.
External links
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de:Nisshin Maru fr:Nisshin Maru nl:Nisshin Maru ja:日新丸 no:FLK «Nisshin Maru» (1987)
