Crikey
So, Steve Irwin is back in the news. And for much the same sort of thing as the original Steve Irwin became famous for - charging into dangerous situations (teethy crocodile mouths, poisonous snakes, Japanese whaling ships in Antarctic waters) while drawling out helpful statements like ‘Crikey, watch this one get angry when I poke it with a stick’ and ‘don’t try this at home kids’. Currently we have illegal Japanese whaling ship the Yushin Maru No 2 tying Sea Shepherd activists to its mast after they boarded the harpoon ship from the Steve Irwin. Seems Antarctica is the adventure destination to be this summer. Shame we are melting it so fast eh?
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January 16th, 2008 at 11:12 am
Boarding a ship in international water is piracy. In some of the worlds water highways you could be water cannoned back over the side. Or in worse cases summarily shot.
Now the captin is pefectly entilted to hold them until the ship reaches port and are handed over the the police for prosecution as pirates.
He does not have to transfer them back as he is now responsible for their safety and can rightfully claim that a transfer would endanger them.
Think these two will get plenty of sushi to eat!!
Who the heck was the strategist to let this stunt proceed. Falls right into the lap of the whalers. Darwin award anyone?
With all the ice melting in Antartica has anyone done a calculation on how much there is and how high the sea waters will rise in the worse case scenario?
Have quotes from Al Gore at 20 metres and from BJ at 2 metres.
Any difinitive answers?
And if the land rises and falls due to normal plate movements in the earths crust, how will you set the datum point for measuring sea level changes?
January 16th, 2008 at 11:35 am
Boarding a ship in international waters is not piracy.
If they were using violence to overthrow the vessel etc. it might be (or it might be at least a piratical act).
These people may be guilty of piracy, but the mere fact of boarding a ship in international waters is not enough.
January 16th, 2008 at 11:51 am
Edge,
“Maritime piracy, according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) of 1982, consists of any criminal acts of violence, detention, or depredation committed for private ends by the crew or the passengers of a private ship or aircraft that is directed on the high seas against another ship, aircraft, or against persons or property on board a ship or aircraft. Piracy can also be committed against a ship, aircraft, persons, or property in a place outside the jurisdiction of any state.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piracy#UNCLOS_Article_101:_Definition_of_ Piracy
The operative words being “depredation committed for private ends”
January 16th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Quite right, and the individuals involved may be guilty of “plunder” or “damage, destruction or violent robbery”, but mere boarding wouldn’t cut it.
January 16th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Edge, That is for the courts to deside.
“depredation committed for private ends”
Would include boarding uninvited as you would be depriving the whalers (no matter how abhorent) from carrying out their business.
The private needs where to deliver a note.
The captain just errs on the side of justice and safety and the protestors may be on board for a couple of months.
January 16th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
No - it’s for the courts to decide whether the individuals here have committed acts which make them guilty. It’s for the law (i.e. Parliament, the UN, various nations in concert etc.) to decide whether mere boarding would ever be enough. They have decided that it’s not.
January 16th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
“They have decided that it’s not.”
Care to provide a link to validate that statement?
January 16th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
You don’t have to support Sea Shepherd or condone violent protest to see that the actions by these whalers are outrageous and in total disregard of world opinion.
Who are the pirates here? How does boarding a ship with a protest letter, or even throwing a few smelly, but harmless, butter bombs compare with raping and pillaging the oceans of our collective world heritage. The spokes person for the ICR/whalers said on the radio this morning that ‘Antarctica is for everybody, not for anybody’. Indeed it is and the ICR should remember that, those whales are part of the global commons, they belong to us ALL and we have a right to defend them.
January 16th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
Gerrit - you already have.
January 16th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
the operative words being “private ends” - and these weren’t
January 16th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
We must be reading it differently.
I read, if you board a vessel and hinder its lawful business you are causing “depredation committed for private ends”.
You read something quite different. Can you explain?
flashharry,
It was a point of law we were discussing I think. Not the morality of whaling (which I’m dead against).
However it is an interesting view point of yours which begs the question, where does illegal protesting in the aim of providing a “good” outcome overstep the mark?
Because if you say it is OK to board a vessel uninvited does the master of that ship have to take responsibilty for your safety plus well being as he currently does with crew and invited guests?
Seperate issue, ff you think of the ship as your house of residence. You can stop people from entering (only a search warrant issued by the judiciary can overule this) your house.
Should the people living on the ship not have the same protection?
January 16th, 2008 at 10:26 pm
Stupidity begets stupidity. I really wish it did not take such risky, provocative action to draw attention to these whaling fleets. It takes away the incentive for the Japanese to back down when they are made to look like the bully.
I just question what else we can do to stop them.
January 17th, 2008 at 8:15 am
This from the Maritime Union’s call for urgent action on whaling and overfishing: