MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Japanese whaler rams Greenpeace vessel in Antarctica

Greenpeace accused Sunday the Japanese whaling vessel Nisshin Maru of deliberately ramming its boat the Arctic Sunrise, in Antarctic waters before steaming off at high speed.

The anti-whaling activists say they tried to contact the Japanese whaling boat shortly before they clashed. However, a statement from the Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research says the Nisshin Maru was deliberately rammed by Greenpeace while cargo was being transferred.

Greenpeace says none of the 25 crew on board the Arctic Sunrise was hurt and the vessel is still seaworthy, despite receiving some damage. Greenpeace expedition leader Shane Rattenbury says his captain tried unsuccessfully to contact the captain of the whaling boat.

"We radioed them when we realised they were on a collision course with us," he said. "My captain spoke to them over the bridge, we received no reply and we've had no further communication since".

"There is no way to describe this as anything but a deliberate ramming which placed the safety of our ship and the lives of our crew in severe danger" underlined Rattenbury who added that "after the incident the Japanese ship turned and headed off directly north at high speed and sailed straight away from us."

The Nisshin Maru is more than twice as long, and six times heavier than the Arctic Sunrise. The impact has left the Sunrise "battered and bruised" but luckily no crew members were injured.

Greenpeace says the Arctic Sunrise had been observing activists onboard inflatable rafts before the collision. The activists had been painting the words "whale meat from sanctuary" on the side of a Japanese supply vessel.

The Greenpeace ship has been dogging Japan's whaling fleet for almost two weeks, attempting to disrupt the hunt for 850 minke whales and 10 fin whales in Japan's so-called scientific research program that results in commercial whale meat sales in Tokyo markets.