) is a Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese registered whaling harpoon ship that undertakes whaling

Whaling

Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...

 operations in the Southern Ocean

Southern Ocean

The Southern Ocean comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60°S latitude and encircling Antarctica. It is usually regarded as the fourth-largest of the five principal oceanic divisions...

.

Sea Shepherd confrontations

On January 15, 2008, two members (Ben Potts and Giles Lane) of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, traveling on the MV Steve Irwin

MV Steve Irwin

The MY Steve Irwin is the flagship of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, and used in their direct action campaigns against whaling and other activities the group opposes...

, boarded the Yushin Maru № 2 without permission. They were accordingly detained onboard the ship for two days before being transferred to the Australian customs vessel MV Oceanic Viking

MV Oceanic Viking

The MV Oceanic Viking is an armed patrol vessel of the Australian Customs Service. Originally built in 1996 as the offshore supply vessel Viking Lady for Norwegian shipping company Eidesvik Shipping AS, the ship was converted into a cable layer in 2000 and renamed Oceanic Viking...

. Sea Shepherd later claimed the two had hidden a homing beacon

Homing beacon

A homing beacon is a radio or acoustic device that allows the user to track a ship, aircraft, an animal, or another individual. Depending on the beacon, the range can be as short as a hundred metres, or, in science fiction, allow for tracking a ship through hyperspace....

 on the Yushin Maru 2. During their detainment, they were offered whale meat

Whale meat

Whale meat is the flesh of whales used for consumption by humans or other animals. It is prepared in various ways, and is historically part of the diet and cuisine of various communities that live near an ocean, including those of Japan, Norway, Iceland, and the Arctic...

 for dinner.

On February 6, 2009, the MV Steve Irwin collided with the Yushin Maru № 2 as the activist vessel attempted to obstruct the transfer of a whale up the slipway of the factory ship Nisshin Maru

Nisshin Maru

The 23-year-old, 8,030-ton vessel is the primary research vessel of the Japanese whaling fleet. 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,...

. Both sides claimed the other responsible. Pete Thomas of the LA Times speculated as to "whether [Mr. Watson's

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....

] actions are truly on behalf of the whales, or merely to obtain dramatic footage for the Animal Planet series, Whale Wars

Whale Wars

Whale Wars is a weekly American documentary-style reality television series that premiered on November 7, 2008 on the Animal Planet cable channel. The program follows Paul Watson, founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, as he and his crew aboard their various vessels harass Japanese...

".