Protesters want boycott of Japanese products

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Anti-whaling protesters have called for Kiwis to boycott Japanese goods over the slaughter of whales as the protest ship Ady Gil sank in the Southern Ocean.

It comes after the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's $2 million eco-boat and the Japanese whalers' security ship Shonan Maru collided on Wednesday.

The crew of the Bob Barker tried to salvage the New Zealand-registered Ady Gil but it sank in Australian maritime waters in Antarctica while under tow early yesterday morning.

It had earlier been emptied of oil and fuel to avoid polluting the sea.

Both parties have blamed the other for the incident. Investigations have been launched on both sides of the Tasman.

A protest outside the Japanese embassy in Willis St yesterday was led by Sea Shepherd's Wellington co-ordinator Lisa Baines.

A 1250-signature petition asking the Japanese to stop whaling was presented to the embassy by Ms Baines.

She also criticised the New Zealand Government for doing nothing to stop whaling because of trade agreements with Japan.

"We now need to stop buying Japanese products as a way to show that we are ... completely disgusted that the Japanese Government are doing this to whales."

But a spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully said trade agreements did not figure.

"We don't have a free trade agreement with Japan but would love to have one."

Mr McCully has ruled out sending a navy ship to patrol the waters saying it was not the Government's role to protect people going to the Southern Ocean looking for trouble.

Labour's foreign affairs spokesman Chris Carter said the Government was being "passive" while Japanese whalers used dubious science as an excuse to hunt whales. The last Labour-led government used air force planes to film the whalers. The footage was released to the media, Mr Carter said.

Maritime New Zealand spokesman Ross Henderson said the Ady Gil investigation may include input from Australian and Japanese investigators.

"But any findings that we put out will be independent from other agencies."

Sea Shepherd organisation's Captain Paul Watson, speaking from the Steve Irwin, said the sinking of the Ady Gil signalled an escalation in the whaling war. "They [Japanese] took out a New Zealand-registered vessel and they are getting away with it. They feel like they can do whatever they want down here."

Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research spokesman Glenn Inwood dismissed Captain Watson's views.

"Obviously he is disappointed that he has lost one of his ships but that's what happens when you take a plastic boat down into an extremely cold environment.

"The collision was an accident that couldn't be avoided by Shonan Maru and our security ships will remain ... until such time as Sea Shepherd disappears."

Ady Gil crewman Simeon Houtman, of Auckland, broke ribs when the boats collided.

"There was a mountain of water and I knew we were in serious trouble," he said. "In fact, I thought we were under water. It was complete confusion."

- © Fairfax NZ News