Page Content | Events
Features
Newswire
Publish
Links
Regions
Other IMCs
Search
Leeds Bradford IMC | UK IMC | Editorial Guidelines | Mission Statement | About Us | Contact | Help | Support Us

(((i))) Leeds Bradford

Read It. Write It. DO IT!

Norwegian Whaling Ship Scuttled

IMC UK Features | 28.04.2009 21:07 | Animal Liberation | Ocean Defence | World

"We came to Henningsvaer. We saw the Skarbakk. We sank the bastard" - Agenda 21

On the evening of April 23rd, the Norwegian whaling ship The Skarbakk was scuttled by environmentalists in the Lofoten islands, Norway, using the name of a 1992 United Nations Conference on the Environment. The conference detailed action proposed for a sustainable 21st century, with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society promising Norway that if they did not comply with international conservation law, then they would sink their whaling ships.

This was not an empty threat, with Captain Paul Watson supervising the sinking of two ships; the Nybraena in 1992 and the Senet in 1994. The anonymous and covert goup Agenda 21 then took over with the scuttling of the Elin-Toril in 1996. In a communique last week, the activists reported they flooded the engine room of The Skarbakk by using an adjustable spanner to open the salt-water intake valve; "to delay the killing season and to protest the continued illegal export of whale meat to Japan."

Related Features: The Whale Wars - Sea Shepherd Returns From Antarctica | Japan issues arrest warrant for Nottingham activist | Arrests As International Whaling Commission Fails To Protect Whales | Nottingham Activist Returns From Whale Saving Mission In Antartica | Sea Shepherd activists injured as Japanese military open fire | Activists Held Hostage By Japanese Whalers In Southern Ocean | Whalers use Public Relations to twist the truth

Links: United Nations Agenda 21 | Sea Shepherd Conservation Society | Ocean Defence topic page

Whaling ships sunk - Sea Shepherd tally, November 2006
Whaling ships sunk - Sea Shepherd tally, November 2006

The Willassen Senior, August 2007
The Willassen Senior, August 2007

The Skarbakk, April 2009
The Skarbakk, April 2009


This is the third ship scuttled under the banner of Agenda 21, the sixth ship attacked in Norway since 1992 and the thirteenth ship sunk by whale defenders since 1979. The same group sunk The Willassen Senior in August 2007 exceeding £2 million pounds in damage, successfully ending the whaling vessel's career within two months - a victory celebrated by the Sea Shepherd.

The news comes just days before the documentary series 'Whale Wars' begins, featuring footage of Sea Shepard activists in action against the Japanese whaling fleet. Although commisioned by a commercial television network, filmmakers claim to be illustrating the front line in the battle for ocean conservation with unprecedented access to the Sea Shepard crew.

Anonymous communique from Agenda 21:

"APRIL 24, 2009 HENNINGSVAER, NORWAY

WHALING SHIP SUNK

ON THE EVENING OF THE 23RD OF APRIL WE SNUCK ONTO A NORWEGIAN WHALING SHIP MAKING REPAIRS IN THE LOFOTEN ISLANDS IN PREPARATION FOR THE 2009 WHALING SEASON. TO DELAY THE KILLING SEASON AND TO PROTEST THE CONTINUED ILLEGAL EXPORT OF WHALE MEAT TO JAPAN WE DISASSEMBLED A VALVE AND FLOODED THE ENGINE ROOM. UNFORTUNATELY LOCAL FIREFIGHTERS WERE ABLE TO RESPOND JUST MOMENTS BEFORE THE SHIP SETTLED ON THE BOTTOM BUT NOT BEFORE THE SHIP HAD ALREADY BEEN COMPLETELY FILLED WITH SEA WATER AND THE DAMAGE DONE. FOR BOTH FISHERIES INVESTORS IN TOKYO AND INSURANCE UNDERWRITERS IN OSLO INVESTING IN THE NORWEGIAN WHALING INDUSTRY CAN ONLY LEAD TO SUNKEN PROFITS. AS A DIRECT RESULT OF A GROWING INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN ENDANGERED SPECIES WE CAME TO HENNINGSVAER. WE SAW THE SKARBAKK. WE SANK THE BASTARD. -AGENDA 21"

In a press release by Sea Shepherd, Paul Watson said; "We don't know who they are, and we have no forewarning of their plans, but we do applaud their efforts, these laws must be enforced and Norwegian whalers are in blatant violation of the worldwide ban on commercial whaling."

Quote from Captain Paul Watson on the scuttling of Skarbakk:

"We don't know who they are, and we have no forewarning of their plans," said Captain Paul Watson. "But we do applaud their efforts, these laws must be enforced and Norwegian whalers are in blatant violation of the worldwide ban on commercial whaling. We are happy that Agenda 21 took over this task back in 1996 with the scuttling of the Elin-Toril. If I knew who they were, I'd give them a medal. It's always better when these things are taken care of by citizens in their own country and the Norwegians who are battling the whalers are like the resistance fighters who once took on the Nazi's in Norway - brave men and women trying to defend lives from war criminals. In today's whale wars, those who slaughter the whales are criminals and no different than elephant poachers in Africa. Except in Africa they shoot the poachers."

Quotes from Captain Paul Watson on the scuttling of Williassen Senior:

"One less whaling ship on the water translates into fewer whales being killed by these criminal whalers,"

"The Agenda 21 team did an excellent job: no injuries, no evidence, no mistakes, and no more whaling. These are results that we can appreciate and admire."

"The whalers should be afraid of being scuttled. A vessel that is being operated in clear defiance of international conservation law and is involved with the illegal slaughter of these intelligent and gentle creatures has only one place — on the bottom of the sea!"

"This was not a crime. The Willassen Senior was a ship engaged in criminal activity specifically violating the International Whaling Commission's global moratorium on commercial whaling activities. Sinking this whaler was an act of law enforcement, and we applaud this successful retirement of an illegal killing machine."

Whaling ships sunk

1979 – the whaler Sierra rammed and sunk in Portugal; 1980 – the whalers Isba I and Isba II sunk in Vigo, Spain; 1980 – the whalers Susan and Theresa sunk in South Africa; 1986 – the whalers Hvalur 6 and Hvalur 7 sunk in Iceland; 1992 – the whaler Nybraena sunk in Norway; 1994 – the whaler Senet sunk in Norway; 1996 - the whaler Elin-Toril sunk in Norway; 1998 – the whaler Morild sunk in Norway; 2007 – the whaler Williassen Senior sunk in Norway; 2009 - the whaler Skarbakk in Norway.

IMC UK Features

Additions

Scuttling news video

29.04.2009 04:06

Anti-speciesist


Comments

Display the following 22 comments

  1. Marine Monkeywrenching Guide — Danny
  2. objection — vegan
  3. Is it 4 or 5 countries still murdering whales? — Norway Boycott
  4. Cheers — imcer
  5. Vegan Objecter — Mary Mary
  6. A difference — Wiki
  7. No difference — imcer again
  8. Stillson(s) — Stroppyoldgit
  9. Congratulations! — Another Vegan
  10. Specious speciesm and blackhearted racism — Danny
  11. Abbey Anathema! — Shoeshiney Tony
  12. revisionist bullshit — who let the liberals in?
  13. re-revisionist bullshit — Shoeshiney Tony
  14. abbey may have used it, but he didn't invent it... — @ntispe
  15. o rly? — antighee
  16. To be precise — Shoeshiney Tony
  17. Abbey — Shoeshiney Tony
  18. Comments — anti-speciesist veganarchist
  19. turning it into an article — dysophia
  20. turning it into an article — dysophia
  21. Too much junkie business — Danny
  22. RE. monkey wrench — captain pugwash

Write It
Publish your news

Do you need help with publishing?

Search

The Common Place - Leeds The 1 in 12 club - Bradford The Trades Club - Hebden Bridge

Kollektives

Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World

Other UK IMCs
Bristol/South West
London
Northern Indymedia
Scotland

IMCs


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech