The Government is aware of reports of an incident this morning in the Southern Ocean in which liquid and powder substances were thrown on board a Japanese whaling vessel by crewmembers of the 'Steve Irwin'.
Followed by the incident, Japan has advised the Australian Embassy in Tokyo that a ship’s doctor is treating three or four crewmembers on board the Japanese vessel. 'I absolutely condemn actions by crewmembers of any vessel that cause injury, or have the potential to cause injury, to anyone on the high seas,' states Minister for foreign affairs, Stephen Smith. 'I have repeatedly called on all parties in the Southern Ocean, both crewmembers of protest and whaling vessels, to exercise restraint. 'As I have previously outlined, now that the monitoring mission of the Oceanic Viking has been completed, neither protest nor whaling vessels can in any way assume that the Australian Government will be in a position to respond immediately in the event of any serious incident.' 'Crew members of ships in the Southern Ocean should not attempt to board other vessels. All parties should understand that to do so may well be contrary to the law of the flag state of any such vessel. The Australian Government strongly discourages activity, which could be illegal or unsafe activity, which could lead to injury or loss of life at sea. The Australian Government remains strongly committed to action to end Japan's whaling program in the Southern Ocean.
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