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Sea Shepherd 'Leviathan' to challenge Japanese Whaling

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has purchased a bigger, faster and more powerful boat in its campaign to assert
international law and stop Japanese commercial whaling. The 'ice class' vessel, 'Leviathan', is undergoing a refit in
the Carribean before it joins the 'Farley Mowat' in Melbourne ahead of the next Japanese whale hunting season in the
Southern Ocean in December.

President of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, Captain Paul Watson, said "We will be bringing two ships, a
helicopter and about 60 volunteers to the Antarctic Whale Sanctuary. Quite a few of the crew will be Australian,"

"We get called lots of things but the bottom line is that Sea Shepherd is not a protest organisation."

"We intervene against illegal activities in accordance with the United Nations World Charter for Nature that allows for
non-government organisations and individual intervention to uphold international conservation law." he said.

The Leviathan is a 54 metre, ice class, long range ex-patrol vessel that has the capacity to catch the whaling fleet.
he $2.6 million ship is currently being refitted and made campaign ready. "We plan to be in Australia by early to
mid-November. In the meantime, we have a helicopter to be serviced and the Farley Mowat to prepare, as well as a crew of
volunteers to recruit, so this will keep us quite busy for the next few months." said Paul Watson.

"We are also working hard at raising funds. We took out a bank loan to enable us to purchase this ship. The cost was
$US2 million ($A2.6 million) which is more than our annual budget," he said. Sea Shepherd are planning to depart from
Melbourne on December 2 to intercept the Japanese whaling fleet.

Last whaling season the Japanese whaling fleet fled at high speed when the slower Farley Mowat intercepted them. The
Greenpeace ships were able to keep pace and their protests hindered whaling efforts and brought graphic coverage to the
world of the illegal commercial whale slaughter, done under the name of scientific research.

The 2006/2007 whaling season will see the whaling fleet chased by two Greenpeace vessels and by two Sea Shepherd vessels.
Japan will be targeting 850 Antarctic piked (Minke) whales, 50 endangered humpbacks and 50 endangered fin whales. Ninety
percent of the whales that are targeted will be in the Australian Whale Sanctuary.

It has been reported that the Japanese fleet will be increasing its defences. "I am unconcerned about whatever plans
Japan has to defend their illegal activities," Captain Watson said. "We are quite willing to instigate an international
incident over this."

Although Sea Shepherd tactics were criticised by the Australian Environment Minister, Senator Campbell, last year,
Captain Watson said “We appreciate what Senator Campbell has said and done, we really do,” said Captain Watson.
“We understand that he has restrictions placed on him by the reality of economics and politics. We don’t ask that he
supports us, we just ask that he refrain from attacking us and agree to disagree with Sea Shepherd tactics if he wishes,
but to recognize that we have the same objectives.”

“We also hold the same position with respect to the Greenpeace Foundation,” continued Captain Watson. “We want
Greenpeace to send two ships to the Sanctuary. They may not want us down there but we want them there. The whales need
every bit of support they can get and although Greenpeace remains hostile to Sea Shepherd, we at Sea Shepherd understand
that strength lies in diversity.”