This video was an instant classic the second it hit the web and now, after months of deliberation by the powers that be, we officialy have someone to blame!  Well without further adu, the blame for the January 6, 2010 collision between the $3.5m Sea Shephard high-speed-publicity-stunt-whale-hunting-hunter-vessel, Ady Gil, and the Japanese whaling vessel, Shonan Maru No. 2, goes to…  Drumroll please…  

BOTH SIDES!  Ahhh!  We knew it!

Today Maritime New Zealand (MNZ), the organization conducting the investigation, released THIS report stating “[MNZ's] report into the collision between the New Zealand-registered whaling protest vessel Ady Gil and the Japanese vessel Shonan Maru No. 2 on 6 January 2010, found no evidence that either vessel master had deliberately caused the collision. However, both were responsible for contributing to and failing to respond to the “close quarters” situation that led to the accident.”

For some classic gCaptain dialogue about Animal Planet’s Whale Wars show, check out these threads in the Forum.

• Sea Shepherd Peter Brown Is A Moron
• Animal Planet’s Whale Wars – Official Thread
• Do the officers on “Whale Wars” have licenses?
• 10 Lessons Pro Mariners Can Learn From Whale Wars

And the plot thickens…

Early Sunday morning, the 100-foot former crab boat F/V Arctic Dawn caught fire while the vessel was moored just south of the Ballard Bridge in the Lake Washington Ship Canal.  According to reports, nearly 100 Seattle based firefighters rushed to the scene to fight what eventually became a 3-alarm fire.  Fortunately, firefighters were able to contain the blaze after about an hour and prevented the fire from spreading to the F/V Lady Kodiak, which was docked alongside the Arctic Dawn.  Damage to the vessel seems to be confined to the superstructure of the ship, above the water line. An engineer, who was the only person on board the vessel when the fire broke out, escaped without injury.  No other injuries were reported and the incident remains under investigation.

The F/V Arctic Dawn, a former crabbing vessel that is now used for salmon-fishing, was featured in some early episodes of the Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch.

More photos of the blaze and aftermath can be found at the My Ballard blog, HERE and HERE.

Love it or hate it Season 2 of Animal Planet’s hit maritime reality tv show Whale Wars aired last night.

A novel could be written to describe gCaptain’s official thoughts on the mission of Sea Shepherd to halt Japanese fishing of whales in the Antarctic so we would rather hear your thoughts in the comments below. Here are some relevant links to get the conversation started:

• gCaptain Forum: Whale Wars Discussions
• Official Whale Wars Site
• Whale Wars Article – The New Yorker
• Whale Wars – Google News
• Watch clips of Whale Wars on HULU
• #WhaleWars on Twitter
• Official Sea Shepherd Site

Take Sides on Facebook:

• F off Japan. Leave the whales alone!
• I root for the Japanese while watching Whale Wars!

An independent producer of reality television shows, has asked our help in posting a small job opening they have on the books. In an email to gCaptain, producer Fred Grinstein writes:

Tiger Aspect Productions is developing a series on maritime ships and vessels for a major US cable network, and we’re in search of diehard seamen who might host our new series.

The ideal candidate would be a credible “insider”, think Discovery’s “Future Weapons”, or History Channel’s “Tougher in Alaska”. It’s not necessarily a veteran historian we’re looking for, but rather a true passionate fanatic of ships and the maritime world that can help communicate this passion to our audience. We’re looking for someone the viewer can connect with as the “real-deal”, someone with real-world maritime experience – i.e. a former captain from a naval fleet, or freight cargo ship, or a tugboat operator. The ideal candidate is a male, aged early 30′s to 40′s, though we’re open to people who don’t necessarily fit this mold.
The show is in development, but the concept is to travel around the country/ world and get up close and personal with the past, present, and future of ships. From ice breakers in the Arctic to the biggest cruise liners sailing the Caribbean, from oil tankers cruising the Persian Gulf, to fishing vessels pulling pots out of the ocean.

Are you a “diehard seamen” with knowledge of a diverse selection of ocean going vessels? If so send a recent photo, a note about yourself and your passion for the marine industry to: Fred Grinstein or visit them in person at The Pacific Marine Expo, Booth # 446!

We know our readers are the most dedicated ship enthusiasts on the planet, hopefully we will see one of you on the TV one day soon!

Click here to view the embedded video.

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You can find gCaptain’s Sea Shepard articles from last year’s hunt HERE. The official television show website can be found HERE.

Carrier, a new show by PBS, joins America’s Port and The Deadliest Catch as the third prime time television series chronicling life at sea. Our friends at Sea Fever have the details in a post titled “At Sea Reality“