Hurt Japanese whalers evacuated

[Barrett808]

Hurt Japanese whalers evacuated
Andrew Darby
January 27, 2009

JAPAN'S already troubled Antarctic whaling season has suffered another blow, with confirmation that injured whalers are being evacuated from the fleet.

Up to three seamen were hurt as the whaling fleet tried to get its hunt back on track following the death overboard of one man, the loss of a chaser ship to mechanical failure, and flight from Sea Shepherd activists.

A spokesman for the New Zealand foreign minister confirmed that Japanese authorities recently made initial inquiries about bringing injured crew to Wellington. "We would have had no problem about providing humanitarian assistance, but we have had no further contact with them," he said.

The men are believed to have been aboard a 49-metre fishing vessel, Taiyo Maru No. 38, which is acting as the whaling fleet's escort. It is believed to have bypassed New Zealand and is headed for Fiji.

Meanwhile, the whale chaser ship Yushin Maru No. 2 is believed to be somewhere off the West Australian coast on its way to the Antarctic after repairs in Indonesia.

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http://www.theage.com.au/national/hurt-japanese-whalers-evacuated-20090126-7q0j.html