Aussies search whaling activists

ADELAIDE, Australia — Australian police conducted searches Saturday on two anti-whaling vessels that recently clashed with Japanese ships in the Antarctic Ocean in an attempt to obstruct their annual catch, police and activists said.

Federal police with search warrants boarded the Steve Irwin and the Bob Barker, ships belonging to the activist group Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, as the result of a “formal referral from Japanese authorities,” a spokesman said.

The search took place in Hobart, Tasmania, where the ships docked Saturday after returning from their pursuit of Japanese whalers. The hunt is conducted in the name of research although some of the whale meat is then sold in Japan.

Jeff Hansen, Australian director of Sea Shepherd, said police had confiscated log books, video footage, charts and laptops, as well as interviewing the crew.

He said police would not reveal the reason for their search, and the group had no idea what the Japanese complaints could be.

“We’re sort of hoping that they do bring on some sort of investigation or charges,” Hansen said. “We’d love to see something get into the courts because the reality is … (the Japanese) have been the aggressors this year. We’d love to get it in the courts and get their illegal activity into the courts as well.”

In the recently ended whaling season, Sea Shepherd vessels and Japanese whalers twice collided. One protest vessel sunk.

In February, activist Peter Bethune of New Zealand jumped aboard one of the Japanese ships with the stated goal of making a citizen’s arrest of the ship’s captain, while handing over a $3 million bill for the destruction of his protest ship. He is being held on the ship as it returns to Japan.

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