25th March 2009, Hobart Port

I wanted to get to the ANZAC monument near the regatta ground in Hobart to catch the sunrise. There was no sunrise - the day was overcast. So I had a look around the port, and was surprised to see the Steve Irwin.

I admire Paul Watson and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society that he founded.

Japanese whalers don’t  care about pathetic whinging condemnations of whaling from governments, or Greenpeace, or conservation societies, or people in general.  The Australian Government “observes” the illegal whaling in the Southern Ocean Whaling Sanctuary. The Australian Government has even apologised for the actions of the Steve Irwin and it’s crew. Other governments have also kowtowed to requests by the Japanese Government to try and block the efforts of Sea Shepherd.

It’s embarrassing to see the list of Sea Shepherd critics who have ”appeared” after pressure by the Japanese Government. I could be a critic and suggest that these governments have kowtowed for economic reasons, Japan being a big spending customer for imports. So whales and Sea Shepherd suffer because of the economic bullying tactics of Japan.

Sea Shepherd should be applauded and appreciated for fighting the good fight, and actually having an effect in the prevention of whaling.

Seeing the Steve Irwin is pretty awesome. The right hand front of it is covered in scrapes; could this be where it collided with the Yushin Maru 2?

It wasn’t a good day or time of day for taking photos. Hopefully it will still be there when I’m in town on Friday. I can get a tour of the ship then, and perhaps some more pictures.

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