Nisshin Maru
Encyclopedia
The 23-year-old, 8,030-ton vessel is the primary research vessel of the Japanese whaling fleet
Whaling in Japan
Whaling in Japan may have begun as early as the 12th century. During the 20th century, Japan was heavily involved in commercial whaling until the International Whaling Commission moratorium on commercial whaling went into effect in 1986...
. It is a converted stern trawler and is the world's only whale factory ship. It is also the largest member, and flagship of the seven-member whaling fleet, headed by research leader Shigetoshi Nishiwaki, and is based in Japan in Shimonoseki harbor. The ship is owned by Tokyo-based company Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha Ltd and is contracted by the Institute of Cetacean Research
Institute of Cetacean Research
The is a Japanese government-sponsored institution. It took over from the Whale Research Institute , which grew out of the Nakabe Scientific Research Centre ....
2007 Antarctic voyage
A major fire in the ship's processing factory broke out on 15 February 2007 while in Antarctic waters. The resulting damage caused the ship to be temporarily disabled, all while continuing to carry approximately 1,000 tons of oil. This incident took place within the New Zealand Search and RescueSearch and rescue
Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...
Region. One crew member was killed in the fire.
Citing environmental concerns, specifically the disabled ship's proximity to Cape Adare
Cape Adare
Cape Adare is the northeastern most peninsula in Victoria Land, East Antarctica. The cape separates the Ross Sea to the east from the Southern Ocean to the west, and is backed by the high Admiralty Mountains...
, Antarctica and the world's largest Adelie Penguin
Adelie Penguin
The Adélie Penguin, Pygoscelis adeliae, is a species of penguin common along the entire Antarctic coast. They are among the most southerly distributed of all seabirds, as are the Emperor Penguin, the South Polar Skua, the Wilson's Storm Petrel, the Snow Petrel, and the Antarctic Petrel...
rookery, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
Conservation Minister Chris Carter
Chris Carter (politician)
Christopher Joseph Carter was an independent Member of Parliament in New Zealand, and a former member of the New Zealand Labour Party until his expulsion. Carter was a senior Cabinet Minister in the Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand, serving lastly as Minister of Education, Minister...
joined international citizens' groups in urgently requesting that the ship be towed away. Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research
Institute of Cetacean Research
The is a Japanese government-sponsored institution. It took over from the Whale Research Institute , which grew out of the Nakabe Scientific Research Centre ....
(ICR), which administers the ship with the Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha, refused offers of a tow from the Greenpeace
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
ship , which had been nearby and monitoring the situation since 17 February. On 28 February, the ICR released a statement on its decision to cut short its Antarctic whale hunt for 2006/2007 due to unrecoverable equipment, and the Nisshin Maru departed for Japan.
Other incidents
The Nisshin Maru and GreenpeaceGreenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
's collided in December 1999 and in January 2006. In 2006 both ships claimed to have been rammed by the other, and the ICR posted video footage to support its version of the incident. Greenpeace responded that the waves emanating from the in the video support Greenpeace's contention that its vessel had its engines in reverse; Greenpeace also claimed the location of cloud formations in the background of the ICR video indicate the MV Nisshin Maru was turning into the Greenpeace ship at the time of collision.
Sea Shepherd
Sea Shepherd
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is a non-profit, marine conservation organization based in Friday Harbor, Washington in the United States. The group uses direct action tactics to protect sealife...
claimed its president Paul Watson
Paul Watson
Paul Watson is a Canadian animal rights and environmental activist, who founded and is president of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, a direct action group devoted to marine conservation....
was shot by someone on the Nisshin Maru during a confrontation with the MY Steve Irwin off Antarctica in 2008. He was wearing a bulletproof vest and was uninjured. An ICR spokesman acknowledged that seven flashbangs
Stun grenade
A stun grenade, also known as a flash grenade or a flashbang, is a non-lethal weapon. The first devices like this were created in the 1960s at the order of the British Special Air Service as an incapacitant....
were thrown and warning shots were fired by the Nisshin Maru coast guard crew, but later pulled back this statement, claiming "no gunshots of any kind" were fired. Pete Bethune, a former member of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, believes that Paul Watson's shooting was staged.
In March 2011, the Nisshin Maru returned early from operations in the Southern Ocean and immediately began assisting in disaster relief efforts following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
The 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, also known as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, or the Great East Japan Earthquake, was a magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST on Friday, 11 March 2011, with the epicenter approximately east...
, transporting food, fuel, and other supplies to areas devastated by the catastrophe.
New IMO regulations
New regulations from the United Nations International Maritime Organization whick took effect in July 2011 have made it illegal for the MV Nisshin Maru to operate while using heavy oilFuel oil
Fuel oil is a fraction obtained from petroleum distillation, either as a distillate or a residue. Broadly speaking, fuel oil is any liquid petroleum product that is burned in a furnace or boiler for the generation of heat or used in an engine for the generation of power, except oils having a flash...
below 60 degrees south. This will most likely increase the cost of operating in the Southern Ocean. The new rules prohibit ships using heavy oil in the Antarctic treaty system area
Antarctic Treaty System
The Antarctic Treaty and related agreements, collectively called the Antarctic Treaty System or ATS, regulate international relations with respect to Antarctica, Earth's only continent without a native human population. For the purposes of the treaty system, Antarctica is defined as all of the land...
due to the risk to wildlife in the event of an oil spill.
Other appearances
The MV Nisshin Maru, is featured in Ship Simulator Extremes, along with the Kyo Maru # 1 and the GreenpeaceGreenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
vessel Esperanza, along with its outboard inflatable boats, and RIBs. The Nisshin Maru was the main setting for the movie Drawing Restraint 9
Drawing Restraint 9
Drawing Restraint 9 is a project by visual artist Matthew Barney consisting of a feature length 35mm film, large-scale sculptures, photographs, drawings, and books. The Drawing Restraint series consists of 16 numbered components and related materials. Some episodes are videos, others sculptural...
.
See also
- Antarctica
- Drawing Restraint 9Drawing Restraint 9Drawing Restraint 9 is a project by visual artist Matthew Barney consisting of a feature length 35mm film, large-scale sculptures, photographs, drawings, and books. The Drawing Restraint series consists of 16 numbered components and related materials. Some episodes are videos, others sculptural...
- GreenpeaceGreenpeaceGreenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
- Institute of Cetacean ResearchInstitute of Cetacean ResearchThe is a Japanese government-sponsored institution. It took over from the Whale Research Institute , which grew out of the Nakabe Scientific Research Centre ....
- International Whaling CommissionInternational Whaling CommissionThe International Whaling Commission is an international body set up by the terms of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling , which was signed in Washington, D.C...
- Hiyo MaruOriental BluebirdThe 8,725 ton Hiyo Maru was the largest member of the Japanese whaling fleet; providing fuel, resources, and stock storage space for that fleet and its crew. In 1992, it was renamed and re-flagged to Panama as the Oriental Bluebird. According to Greenpeace, after a dispute with the Panamanian...
- Sea ShepherdSea ShepherdThe Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is a non-profit, marine conservation organization based in Friday Harbor, Washington in the United States. The group uses direct action tactics to protect sealife...
- Shōnan Maru 2
- Southern Ocean Whale SanctuarySouthern Ocean Whale SanctuaryThe Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary is an area of 50 million square kilometres surrounding the continent of Antarctica where the International Whaling Commission has banned all types of commercial whaling...
- Whaling in JapanWhaling in JapanWhaling in Japan may have begun as early as the 12th century. During the 20th century, Japan was heavily involved in commercial whaling until the International Whaling Commission moratorium on commercial whaling went into effect in 1986...
- Yūshin Maru № 2Yushin Maru No. 2) is a Japanese registered whaling harpoon ship that undertakes whaling operations in the Southern Ocean.- Sea Shepherd confrontations :On January 15, 2008, two members of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, traveling on the MV Steve Irwin, boarded the Yushin Maru № 2 without permission...