I find it funny being a kiwi abroad that the NZ media doesn't publish all of the facts surrounding these incidents. The Andy Gill was clearly to blame for the collision and any person with any knowledge of maritime rules will know that. The problem is that the activists fighting for the whales are resorting to criminal activity to get there five minutes of fame. My advice is don't let your emotions cloud your judgement and look at the facts on both sides before you speak. Also Japan is not the only nation whaling at the present time. Everything in moderation as long as it's sustainable I say. After all whats the difference between a cow and a whale? You don't see people ramming and pouring acid over farmers tractors now do we.

ddpalmer is paid by the Japanese whale meat industry. He defends this barbaric slaughter on every board and every blog he can find.

Well earthcitizen you seem particularly ill informed.

The Japanese are whaling in international waters not the territory of any country. They are not killing endangered whales. They are not breaking any national or international laws.

Since the whaling is not happeneing in NZ territory there is no reason for the NZ government to do anything about it even if it was illegal. Therefore no NZ citizens are forced to stand up for anything. No country, includinh NZ, is responsible for the direct protection of their citizens when they leave their home countries borders.

There is no proof that whales are more intelligent than pigs. Most of that theory comes from research done on dolphins by a man who admits he was on LSD during his research. And you should be ashamed of yourself for flaunting your ignorance in public.

Excellent article, good to know there are some journalists who have a sense of morality and dignity, and are not afraid of environmental thugs. To those of you who from NZ, who are on the side of these Japanese environmental terrorists that go into the territory of another country, break national and international law by killing endangered whales, and then go on to endanger NZ citizens who are forced to stand up for the law when their government does nothing....If you choose to side with these 'whalers,' these parasites who kill mammals of far greater intelligence, compassion then they will ever have, then you should be ashamed of yourselves.

M<cCully has already replied to me over legal action -they won't take it - with a whole heap of pathetic excuses. This is a summary of many pages I sent him. Japan's continued and expanded program of scientific whaling is inconsistent with its obligations under the Law of the Sea Convention, the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling Convention, the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), and the Convention on Biological Diversity to protect and preserve the marine environment, to protect rare and fragile ecosystems and endangered species, to prepare environmental impact assessments when changes to the marine environment are likely to be caused by its activities, and to refrain from claiming resources under the guise of marine scientific research. This program is not legitimately "scientific" because it has not been peer-reviewed and does not have precise quantifiable goals. It is inconsistent with Japan's obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity because reduces the sustainability of whale species and has "adverse impacts on biological diversity." It is unquestionably an abuse of right because it invokes Article VIII of the Whaling Convention in a manner that certainly was unanticipated by the framers of the Convention and has been repeatedly condemned by the majority of the other contracting parties to the Convention. Japan's actions can be challenged by concerned states in the International Court of Justice or through the dispute resolution procedures of the Law of the Sea Convention and the conciliation procedures of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

ddpalmer #2 - well said... NZ'rs put them selves in harms way. The writer of the article mentions the Japanese using military hardware. While this is true but he/she fails to mention other commercial freighters/tankers/ and even cruise ships use the same hardware to assist in defeating pirates. Sea Shephard was branded as a terrorist boat/pirate by THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY and the Andy Gill decided to join it. Therefore the Japs have every right to repel and fend off these terrorists.

common sense #4 - i think you are missing the subject of this blog. It isn't about the Japs hunting whales it is about our NZ government and how it is conducting itself about this incident.

While i dont' support the Jap's position on "research" whaling, they are legally entitled to. THis is passed by the UN.

i think everyones missing the simple truth . the japanese dont seem to be conducting scientific research. they are feeding japan whale meat. the world courts should enforce the anti whaling rules.

Do you really think like this 'nice'?

"Yes, the whalers are to blame. If they weren't there, sea shepherd wouldn't be."

So, if women just would stop wearing short skirts they wouldn't get raped. So it is the womans fault. And if someone didn't own such a nice car then the carjacker wouldn't have shot them to steal it.

That way of thinking is wrong on so many levels and I didn't think there where any people who still tried to use an arguement like that.

So what do you suggest Mr McCully do?

The NZ government is investigating the incident as they should. Has Mr McCully done anything to hinder this investigation? No.

The incident happened in international waters, or possibly waters claimed by Australia, so NZ has no reason to send a vessel to the area to patrol. Unless you suggest that NZ should have it's Navy accompany every vessel flagged in NZ or with New Zealanders onboard.

When a NZ citizens leaves the borders of NZ they can no longer expect the NZ government to protect them like the protection they could expect while inside NZ. Even a country like the USA can't offer protection for it's citizens when outside the US borders.

A country can investigate after an incident occurs and offer assistance within the legal bounds of the country where the incident occurred. But since this incident occurred at sea and involved ships flagged in 4 different countries there is no direct assistance that is appropriate. The only thing that can be done at present is an investigation which is under way.

Yes, the whalers are to blame. If they weren't there, sea shepherd wouldn't be.

They need to be punished and expelled from the Southern Ocean.