News is coming out from Sea Shepherd that their high speed vessel, the BRIGITTE BARDOT (ex Gojira) has been damaged by a rogue wave:

Sea Shepherd Ship Severely Damaged by Rogue Wave
Steve Irwin Responding to Distress Call from the Brigitte Bardot

While fighting heavy seas in pursuit of the Japanese whaling fleet, the Sea Shepherd scout vessel Brigitte Bardot was struck by a rogue wave that has cracked the hull and severely damaged one of the pontoons on the vessel.

Captain Paul Watson, onboard the Sea Shepherd flagship Steve Irwin, reports that they are fighting heavy seas to reach the position of the Brigitte Bardot some 240 miles to the southeast. It is expected to take twenty hours to reach the damaged vessel.

The Brigitte Bardot is at 51 degrees 42 minutes South and 99 Degrees 21 minutes East, or 1500 miles southwest of Fremantle, Western Australia.

Brigitte Bardot Captain Jonathan Miles Renecle of South Africa was pursuing the Japanese factory ship Nisshin Maru in six meter swells when the wave slammed into the port side of the vessel cracking the hull. The crack has been getting wider as the seas continue to pound the vessel.

Captain Renecle is confident that the ship will stay afloat until the Steve Irwin arrives. The Brigitte Bardot has a crew of ten: three British, three American, one Australian, one Canadian, one Belgian and one South African.

The Sea Shepherd ship Bob Barker will continue in pursuit of the whaling fleet. The Steve Irwin will assist the Brigitte Bardot, first to see to the safety of the crew, and then to escort the vessel to Fremantle for repairs.

“This is disappointing but these are hostile seas and we have always been prepared for situations like this,” Said Captain Paul Watson from the Steve Irwin. “Right now the safety of my crew on the Brigitte Bardot is our priority and we intend to reach the crew and then do what we can to save our ship.” - Sea Shepherd Website

It seems that the vessel is in serious trouble in a very remote location. Worse, given the remote location, the only vessels available to come to the rescue is another Sea Shepherd vessel, the STEVE IRWIN. this will put two vessels out of action. However, this is much better than being down there alone.

Other than waiting to see the fate of this vessel, I guess the only thing left to say is that this vessel was completely not suited for the environment that Sea Shepherd was operating in and it was only a matter of time before it because a casualty.

Guess they must be getting great footage for the next season. I look forward to seeing if the Japanese have come up with any good countermeasures to keep the Sea Shepherds at bay. I’m guessing that they have new tactics. Otherwise they would be setting themselves up for another defeat like last season.

In this photo released by Maritime New Zealand, the Russian fishing vessel Sparta is seen in waters in the Ross Sea near Antarctica, Dec. 16, 2011. (AP)

Crew on board the Russian vessel Sparta have requested more equipment to help repair damage to the boat’s hull while rescue efforts are hampered by icy conditions in the southern ocean.

Sparta issued a distress call around 3am on Friday from a position next to the Antarctic ice shelf, about 2000 nautical miles (3704 kilometres) south east of New Zealand.

The 48m vessel, with 32 crew on board, had hit ice and put a 30cm hole in the hull, 1.5m below the water line. It was taking on water and listing 13 degrees.

The Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) tasked three nearby vessels to assist Sparta, but all three have been hampered by heavy sea ice.

One, the New Zealand vessel San Aspiring, was released from the rescue yesterday after its crew determined the more than 470 nautical mile (NM) journey was too dangerous.

The Norwegian vessel Sel Jevaer is only 19NM away but is currently hemmed in by ice and unable to proceed. Sparta’s sister ship, Chiyo Maru no. 3 is slowly making its way towards the stricken vessel but is still days away.

Yesterday, a Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) C130 Hercules dropped extra pumping equipment and fuel to the vessel, after a seven-hour flight from Christchurch.

The Hercules was returning today and due back in New Zealand tonight.

RCCNZ Search and Rescue Mission Coordinator Neville Blakemore said the crew was continuing to pump water from the ship using the on-board pumping equipment and the one delivered yesterday.

“They are keeping ahead of the water ingress using two pumps,” Mr Blakemore said.

“But they are having difficulty in trying to fix a patch to the damaged part of the hull because they need to stop one of the pumps to do this, and then the water level creeps up again.”

Mr Blakemore said Sparta’s stability was currently the number one priority for the rescue operation.
“With help days away at least, we need to keep the crew on board Sparta where they have their best chance of survival.

“The crew has manoeuvred the vessel alongside the ice shelf and attached mooring lines to the ice. They have also deployed their life rafts which are alongside Sparta.

“They have told us they need more equipment to assist with repairs and securing the vessel.”

Mr Blakemore said the ship’s agent was sourcing the equipment and RCCNZ would coordinate its delivery.

Sparta’s owner has commissioned the South Korean icebreaker Araon to go to Sparta to offer assistance. Araon left New Zealand just after midnight and is expected to take about eight days to reach Sparta.

Weather conditions in the area remain calm.

In breaking news from the Antarctic Japanese whalers have taken two activists hostage after they boarded the whaling ship Yushin Maru. The BBC tells us;

The Sea Shepherd campaign group said the two – a Briton and an Australian – had been assaulted and tied to the radar mast by the Japanese crew.

They said they wanted charges of kidnap to be filed in Australia.

Minoru Morimoto, of the Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR), admitted the pair had been detained but denied they had been assaulted or harmed.

He said the Sea Shepherd’s accusations that the two men were tied up were “completely untrue”.

“It is illegal to board another country’s vessels on the high seas. As a result, at this stage, they are being held in custody while decisions are made on their future,” he added.

You can read the full report HERE and watch the video HERE.

UPDATE 17Jan:

The AP wire tells us:

Australia said Thursday it would send a ship to pick up two anti-whaling activists who jumped on a Japanese harpoon vessel from a rubber boat in Antarctic waters, offering a solution to a tense, two-day standoff on the high seas.

The protesters from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society scored a victory with their stunt, bringing Japan’s whale hunt to a standstill while officials scrambled to resolve the faceoff.

The Australian customs ship Oceanic Viking will pick up the two activists, an Australian and a Briton, and return them to their anti-whaling vessel as soon as the details can be arranged, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said. Continue Reading…