Enviro-warrior stealth boat the Ady Gil has reportedly been rammed by a security vessel employed to protect a Japanese whaling ship. The crew of the Ady Gil had been launching projectiles at the Nisshin Maru whaling vessel and attempting to entangle its propeller with rope, when the 1.5 million dollar craft was suddenly approached and rammed by the Shonan Maru, one of the Japanese security vessels. The attack smashed the sleek biodiesel-powered trimaran in half, and it sank, although the crew of six has been rescued uninjured.
So much for the stealth approach. Less than two months after the $1.5 million Ady Gil was donated to Sea Shepherd to be used as part of anti-whaling protests in the Southern ocean, it lies smashed on the Antarctic sea floor.
Skipper Pete Bethune and his crew made their first contact with the Nisshin Maru and its security vessels earlier today, and began efforts to disrupt the whalers' activities. To date, the Japanese have been harpooning for about a month.
The attack leaves Sea Shepherd with two ships, the Steve Irwin and the Bob Barker, which are en route to the scene, apparently with every intention of escalating the situation.
Via The Age.
Update: CNN has video of the incident.
