Wah. Another Norwegian whaling vessel (Sofie) now comfortably underwater.

[flvegan]

"Norway announced an increased quota of minke whales so we decided to increase our quota of sunken whalers" - AGENDA 21

Local news media reported that the sabotage was discovered before the ship could sink. An alarm alerted the ship's owner, Leif Einar Karlsen, who lives nearby. He attempted to slow the water that was coming in through the open valves, but by the time the fire department arrived, the engine room was under several feet of water. Karlsen has pledged to repair the Sofie and begin killing minke whales in May.

It has been one year since the last attempted sinking of a whaling ship in Norway. In April 2009, an attempt was made to sink the whaling ship "Skarbakk" when it was moored at Henningsvaer, Norway. In August 2007, the whaling ship "Willassen Senior" was sunk in the harbor in Svolvaer (the boat was only a stone's throw away from where the Sofie was docked).

The Sofie is the seventh Norwegian whaling vessel to come under attack for illegal whaling activities since 1992. After the attack on the Sofie, the head of a Norwegian whaling organization complained to the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, "It is outrageous that this can be done year after year without anyone being caught."

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2010/04/448763.html

There's a little more detail at directaction dot info, which I won't link to from here (doubt admin would appreciate that). Look under April 6 actions.

[Robeson]

1. So the head of a Norwegian whaling orginaztion has the stones to bitch about...

...illegal whaling they were doing? Fuck him.

[LeftyMom]

2. Error: You can't recommend threads from this forum

[MoonRiver]

3. When the IWC sells out to the Norwegian, Icelandic and Janpaese killers

will Sea Shepherd and Greenpeace be able to effectively (legally?) continue defending our magnificent whales? I probably won't get an answer but I just want to put the question out as much as possible. The survival of the world's great whales depends on it's answer.

[flvegan]

4. Depends on the instances.

I would think that if the Japanese continued to whale in the Southern Ocean, Sea Shepherd could intervene based on the rules of the sanctuary as they have been, and taking their chances. However, one of the reasons the Japanese are positive about the potential changes is that they could avoid whaling there and do more locally, avoiding the likes of Sea Shepherd and the world stage.

That really shifts things.

[MoonRiver]

5. It's far from certain that this dastardly deal will go down.

I think it may very well fall apart, along with the IWC. Then the many concerned countries of the world need to initiate an international, and permanent, ban on whaling through the U.N. This almost happened a few decades ago, but the outcry is loud enough now, I believe, to ensure its passage. Plus, there needs to be massive boycots against Japan, Norway and Iceland. Of course the only one who produces major goods is Japan.