New Ady Gil footage backs up Sea Shepherd's claims

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New Ady Gil footage backs up Sea Shepherd's claims

3News NZ

The crew of the Ady Gil realise the Shonan Maru is approaching (background)

The crew of the Ady Gil realise the Shonan Maru is approaching (background)

By Kate Lynch

New footage has emerged from on board the protest vessel Ady Gil, just moments before it was hit by the Japanese security ship Shonan Maru 2.

The footage appears to back up the claims of New Zealand skipper Pete Bethune, who said they were low on fuel and idling when the boat was demolished.

"This will do us anyway," Capt Bethune is heard saying. "We've got to save our fuel, eh. Reach in and tell them to stop now."

Those were the orders that were to spell the end for his beloved vessel.

The new footage shows the crew on board the idling vessel sitting back and congratulating each other, after a hard day's work harassing the Japanese whalers.

"F**king good effort guys," says Capt Bethune. "Awesome effort, it's been a good day. Pity we don't have a couple thousand more litres of fuel to go chucking at them."

Another crew member asks, "Do you reckon we slowed them down a bit?"

"Don't know," comes the reply. "Yeah, we slowed them down for sure - we were zigzagging the whole time."

The Shonan Maru then sounds an alarm, and the crew notice it heading toward them. They thought it was going to pass by, and instead it did an abrupt turn and headed straight for them at full speed. This is where this footage ends, but by now most people have seen what happened next from shots released by both the anti-whalers and the Japanese.

The Sea Shepherd crew say the new footage is authentic, and clearly vindicates them.

"Pete Bethune tried his best to get to the controls and back down, but he couldn't do it quickly enough," says fellow Sea Shepherd captain Paul Watson. "I think the Japanese were intent upon destroying the Ady Gil."

Capt Watson is disgusted Foreign Minister Murray McCully has accused them of attempted murder on the high seas.

"That's ridiculous. We've been down here for six years. We've never broken a law, we've never been charged with a violation, we've never injured anybody. Our intent is to come here and save whales, not to kill people. And for Murray McCully, he should either apologise or resign his position, because he's taking the side of the Japanese against New Zealand citizens and a New Zealand vessel."

Veteran maritime accident investigator Jim Varney has now seen all the footage supplied from both sides. He still believes both sides were at fault, and this was a game of chicken that went wrong.

"They are being provocative," he says of the Ady Gil. "The Japanese are also being provocative in trying to see which one gives way first."

It was always going to be the Ady Gil which came off second best, and new video has been released of the vessel as it took on water while being towed to dry land. It eventually sank, but there is already talk of a replacement being built to take its place.

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25/09/2010 9:38:17 p.m.

John wrote:

@Cody

If you knew anything about basic semanship or the 72 COLREGS you would know that both parties would be at fault for a collision and that the Ady Gail did make a surge forward not rear. This collision was just as much the SS crews fault as it was the Japanese research vessel's fault. Bottom line the SS crews are breaking the actual law and the Japanese are going against accords in which they did not sign so have no obligation to follow.

21/08/2010 4:43:38 p.m.

Ted wrote:

What is extremely suspicious is the two frame cuts starting at 0:56. Before that, the only sign of any possible Japanese vessel nearby is around 0:32, when a ship can just be made out on the horizon; it is unclear if this is a whaling vessel or a sea shepherd vessel. other than that, there is no definitive proof that the whaling vessel is anywhere nearby. At 0:56 the video suddenly jumps from everyone relaxing to them all gathered at the railing as the Japanese vessel approaches; at this point the whaling vessel is clearly still quite a distance from the Ady Gil. The video suddenly jumps again; this time, we see familiar footage of the shonan maru and the ady gil crashing. All that is proven is that a) at some point in time the ady gil's crew was on the deck, with no Japanese vessel in close proximity, celebrating a successful harassment. b) at another point in time they note the approach of the shonan maru, but at a far enough distance for them to easily have maneuvered to avoid a collision. c) after another period of time, their vessel still has not moved out of the way of the approaching shonan maru, and a collision occurs. Also, the claim that the Ady Gil was out of fuel and unable to move is bogus. No sea captain would run his ship until it was completely out of fuel on the open ocean, and then simply sit around celebrating. Either there was enough fuel left still in the tank for at least basic maneuvers, or there was extra fuel on board. otherwise, the Ady Gil would have no way of returning to port or even docking with another Sea Shepherd ship to refuel. This proves that the Ady Gil did have the means to move under its own power. In fact, in the videos from both the Steve Irwin and the Shonan Maru, it is clear in the last few seconds before the crash that the Ady Gil powered up, and a large propeller wake is clearly visible behind them. All this new video proves is the Ady Gil saw the Shonan coming long ago, and simply chose not to avoid it.

18/07/2010 6:00:53 p.m.

JJOe wrote:

That collision was the best thing that ever happened for the Sea Shepard, because so many are now aware of it. More and more will now donate money and want to be a part of it after seeing what happened. They already have 4 ships planned for next season, and now it wouldn't surprise me if that number continues to grow.

18/07/2010 8:00:49 a.m.

Cody wrote:

@ Hippies: Wow, that's probably the most offensive thing I've ever heard.... I don't believe Sea Shepherd has killed anyone, ever, never mind hundreds. To say they're the same is just wrong! @Lee: Thank you for that info. I didn't know Japan did half that stuff. I knew about the dolphins. If you haven't seen The Cove, you should. @Tom: I completely agree with you. There is NO way to twist this in the Japanese favor. Pete was out of the boat, and told the guy at the helm to stop. He didn't want his boat to sink, and neither did the guy inside. Everyone knows that's what would happen if a whaling vessel and the Ady Gil collided, and no one would steer the Ady Gil into that position. It's idiotic to think they did otherwise. Clearly, international leaders ar even less effective 'leaders' than we all thought they were to begin with. Japan's whaling operation should have been shut down, and ICR and the Japanese government should have been in HUGE trouble, and the captain of the Shonan Maru should have been sent to prison for seven counts attempted murder and been charged for injuring the Sea Shepherd cameraman. I don't know how anyone can dispute the fact that the Japanese are 100% at fault.

10/07/2010 6:30:11 p.m.

Tom wrote:

Are you all blind?! I find it hard to believe its possible to interpret the video footage any other way. The smaller boat was at a stand still when the larger Japanese boat changed course, closed the distance, and then clipped the front of that smaller boat right off. Meanwhile the crew of was out on deck (and was out on deck from the very start) hanging on for their lives, and simultaneously under fire from a water canon. There is video footage from multiple vantage points - the fact the events shown are contested and responsibility cannot be assigned is amazing! The Japanese response to the Sea Shepherds campaign is also mind boggling. They become more and more aggressive and it becomes harder and harder to sympathize with them. This is a publicity battle - the Sea Shepherds are pulling a publicity stunt to win hearts and minds. From what I have seen on tv the actual anti-whaling operation is not very effective. Apparently the Japanese do not realize they are losing the publicity battle. Whales must taste great - the Japanese are willing to sacrifice so much to eat them. I watch anime, I read mangas, and have come to appreciate Japanese culture from the perspective of a complete outsider. I could go on and on about how great it is. However, the more I learn about the Japanese "research" in the Southern Ocean, the harder it gets to enjoy that culture. They are researching the science of eating whales. It is just ugly.

14/01/2010 8:48:48 p.m.

Lee Stevens wrote:

The Japanesse Fishing practices, cutting loose mile long nets,ensnaring turtle and dolphin poseing threats to divers, the annual dolphin kill,over fishing bill fish and blue fin tuna to the point of extinction, poaching the Galapogos sanctuary,dragging the ocean bottoms tearing coral,the senseless dolphin and whale kills blocking US agricultural products, killing tons of junk fish to get to a small percentage of edibles.Practicing a trade war with the China to undercut American Steel and American jobs to constantly run huge trade surpluses to buy US property and control while denying that to US investors. And you say the folks who support the Sea Sheppard are terrorists?

12/01/2010 6:59:52 p.m.

hippies suck wrote:

There really isnt anything i can say to convince you "people" who support the Sea Shepard. If you support the Paul Watson then you are no better then the terrorists who took down the Twin Towers in NYC. What they are dong is terrorism. To force someone to think the way you do is terrorism. Paul Watson is no Captain. He consistently puts human lives in danger to save the lives of a few whales. The fisherman are merely working a job. So they can support their families. Ive seen the footage of the Ady Gil smashing into the japanese boat. Its clearly their fault and they should be held liable. All of the people on the Sea Shepard should be arrested and jailed for acts of terrorism. If those "people" were never in the position they were. None of this would have happened. If those "people" would just let other people live there lives and stop trying to tell others what to do this never would have happened. Those people who are involved and support the Sea Shepard should be arrested and jailed for supporting terrorists. Bob Barker, and Flea from Red hot Chili Peppers included. They are nothing but terrorists!

12/01/2010 6:46:54 p.m.

jt wrote:

first off, they ARE BOTH at fault. it's rule#2 of international navigation. all vessels must take appropriate action so as to avoid collision at sea and no vessel will be exonerated or cleared of responsibility simply by saying they were following the rules. Its a matter of good seamanship. But then again, Mr. Watson wouldn't know anything about that considering how he likes to ram his boat into other boats out of desperation. Granted he was on a different vessel. Second, in order for the SM2 to have turned into the AG, they would have to turn to starboard, as the AG was on the stbd side. They were turning to port. Either way this is good chance to show these bigots that they don't have the law on their side as much as they like to think. They get away with what they do b/c they take sanctuary in anti-whaling nations. But who knows, that may come toppling down as well.

12/01/2010 3:47:18 p.m.

brent wrote:

The jap video and the Ady Gil video clearly show the Ady Gil moved forward. They might have got confused realizing they were too close but remember that the Ady Gil had made many many passes at speed in front of this ship and others (see UTube footage) and dragged ropes to entangle propellers of jap vessels also. SS had it coming as they are just an angry bunch of people. They probably need to be in the Southern Ocean so as they don't bash their wives and girlfriends!

12/01/2010 11:21:48 a.m.

WTF wrote:

@Robbie What are you on about. What footage are you referring too? Did you not see the SM2 make a sharp turn towards the Ady Gil? Are you completely blind? They were dead still in the water, and according to the maritime laws it was SM2's responsibility to avoid them, not turn into them.