Bethune accuses Japan of stalling on evidence

  • Breaking
  • 18/11/2010

By Angela Beswick

Anti-whaling activist Pete Bethune is satisfied with the findings of an investigation into the Ady Gil’s collision with Japanese whaler Shonan Maru 2, saying it’s time to cut his losses and move on.

However, he still had strong words for the Japanese, accusing them of stalling with evidence for six months to avoid prosecution.

“One thing the Japanese were very clever on, they waited six months before submitting the rest of their data,” he said.

“So Maritime Safety could never produce this report in six months – and there’s a six-month time limit on prosecutions.

"The captain has never explained why he turned to starboard, directly towards us – in fact, he’s never answered any questions at all," Mr Bethune said.

“As the six month time limit has now passed, we have no hope of prosecuting through the maritime legal system.”

The MNZ report, released today, found both masters were responsible for contributing to and failing to respond appropriately to the “close quarters” situation that lead to the collision.

In an interview with 3news.co.nz today, Mr Bethune said he did accept some responsibility.

“In a collision at sea, it is never 100 percent and zero percent – there is always culpability on both sides,” he said.

“I’m happy that the report is out and it does basically say what we’ve said all along – that they were overtaking us, they turned to starboard in an act that was deliberate.”

Read the full interview with Pete Bethune

Eye-witness interviews, GPS and voyage data recordings, video footage and photographs were all used in the MNZ investigation.

However, Japanese authorities refused to conduct interviews with the captain and crew of the Shonan Maru 2 as part of MNZ’s investigation.

The report stated no evidence suggested either party caused the collision, however Shonan Maru 2 – as the give way vessel – held initial responsibility for keeping clear of the Ady Gil.

“He had ample opportunity to avoid the close quarters situation that subsequently developed, but failed to do so,” the report states.

“It’s clear in the report we had the right of way,” says Mr Bethune.

“They were the overtaking vessel, they have an absolute obligation to keep clear of us, and they failed to do so.”

Watch footage of the collision

He commended the report for dispelled “the Japanese argument that we deliberately put ourselves in their way”.

“They are the major cause of this collision by deliberately steering into us and then deliberately turning to starboard in the last 10 seconds - the report says that,” he said.

But today’s report marks time to move on for Mr Bethune.

“For us to take action in Japan, the word we’ve had, is that it would cost $2 million to $4 million,” he said.

“To recover a million or two for a boat is just not worth it. It’s just time to move on.”

Mr Bethune says he has no regrets about his actions in the fight to stop whaling.

“Those are the risks you take when you take on a foe like Japan,” he said.

“Society does generally change what it finds acceptable and there is a mood swing starting to happen in Japan… But, it’s not an easy battle to win this.”

3 News

source: newshub archive