Sea Shepherd 'sank its own anti-whaling boat'

BBC ^ | October 7, 2010 | BBC

[aMorePerfectUnion]

An estranged former member of direct action anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd alleges it ordered its own boat to be scuttled to win public sympathy.

Peter Bethune was captain of the hi-tech Ady Gil when its bow was shorn off in a collision with a Japanese whaler it was shadowing in January.

It sank two days later, but Mr Bethune now alleges he was ordered to scuttle it by Sea Shepherd head Paul Watson.

Mr Watson denies the claim - the latest twist in a bitter row between the two.

Commentators say the feud threatens to undermine the standing of the anti-whaling lobby in the publicity battle over Japan's whaling programme.

Mr Bethune told New Zealand's National Radio he believed Mr Watson wanted the sinking to "garner sympathy with the public and to create better TV".

Former anti-whaling campaign collaborators Peter Bethune and Paul Watson Relations between Bethune, left, and Watson seem to have descended into acrimony

"Paul Watson was my admiral. He gave me an order and I carried it out," Mr Bethune said, according to Associated Press.

"I was ashamed of it at the time and I'm ashamed of it now."

[guitarplayer1953]

Doing a little research they began to do commercial whaling in the 12th century. whale meat has been part of their culture for over 1000 years along with porpoise and other sea fish and mammals. They eat whales and we eat chickens and cows.

[ExpatGator]

Having spent a life at sea, I have to disagree. There was most assuredly a watertight bulkhead between that bow section and the rest of the boat. It took just the forwardmost portion off. Plenty of hull integrity left to keep afloat. I was highly trained in damage control at sea and feel confident in the previous statement.

[Oztrich Boy]

I hate to take Paul Wilson’s side, but c’mon, the Ady Gil was chopped in half, there was no saving it.

Ady Gil was 78' long. It lost 8' of the bow, which would have been mostly empty space.

We can rebuild her. We have the technology