A Japanese whaler rammed a Sea Shepard vessel this week. See video below.

 

 

Two more videos for context

and here. Serious question. Should we care and why? The Sea Shepard folks on their own show Whale Wars have done things that are clearly illegal, and this particular incident shows the Japanese Whaler clearly turning into the vessel to ram it.

 

What does the ongoing saga represent? Is this non-state law enforcement in the protection of the environment? Is this international piracy by environmental groups? I have had the opinion expressed more than once to me that this is legitimatized Western maritime terrorism and can be classified as piracy under international law.

 

Do I care? Not as much as I probably should. Seems to me the Japanese don't obey whaling laws, and the Sea Shepard folks pretend they are maritime law enforcement a bit too much for my taste.

 

View the full article

What does the ongoing saga represent? Is this non-state law enforcement in the protection of the environment? Is this international piracy by environmental groups? I have had the opinion expressed more than once to me that this is legitimatized Western maritime terrorism and can be classified as piracy under international law. Do I care? Not as much as I probably should. Seems to me the Japanese don't obey whaling laws, and the Sea Shepard folks pretend they are maritime law enforcement a bit too much for my taste.

 

Yes, IMHO, the Sea Moron Society were in fact committing piracy, or 'eco terrorism', or whatever moniker suits their ilk.

 

And, moreover, it is my understanding that the Japanese are permitted under IWC rules (entirely voluntary and non-binding rules, I might add) to harvest whales for "scientific research purposes" and are not permitted to allow the whale meat to be wasted.