Customs ship sets course for whalers

The customs ship Oceanic Viking has left its berth near Perth and is en route to intercept Japanese whalers in the Antarctic.

The 9000-tonne ship specially fitted for Antarctic conditions departed at Stirling Naval Base on Tuesday evening three weeks after Foreign Minister Stephen Smith promised action against the Japanese whalers “within days”. The ship is tasked with shadowing the Japanese whaling fleet to gather photographic and other evidence for use in possible future legal action by Canberra. The long awaited departure coincides with damaging accusations by the Sea Shepherd conservation group that the Japanese whaling fleet has been illegally killing whales inside Australia's Economic Exclusion Zone (EEZ). Paul Watson the captain of the Sea Shepherd's newly named conservation enforcement vessel, Steve Irwin, said the Oceanic Viking would take at least a week to reach the Japanese. The Oceanic Viking, originally designed as a cable-layer, was converted in 2004 to an armed patrol vessel and chartered to the Australian Customs Service.
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