Greenpeace has successfully disrupted the Japanese whaling effort in the Southern Ocean, with the Esperanza now pursuing the Nisshin Maru, the factory ship that is key to the Japanese operation, out of the whaling grounds, Greenpeace’s whaling campaign coordinator Sarah Holden has told Crikey from on board the Esperanza.

Greenpeace had been in the whaling grounds for ten days searching for the Japanese. In the early hours of Saturday morning the watch-keepers noticed some suspicious “blobs” on the radar. Although it was foggy, the Esperanza tentatively identified the factory ship and started to follow it. When the fog lifted a few hours later, Greenpeace had the Nisshin Maru in front of it and one of the capture vessels behind it.

Forty eight hours later, Greenpeace has claimed a significant victory in the war against Japan’s whaling.

“They are running away from us presently, which means, most importantly, that they are not whaling,” Holden told Crikey this morning. “We had one of the capture vessels with us for quite some time up until late yesterday, but because the capture vessels are not with the Nisshin Maru, we know that they are unable to hunt.”

According to the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, Japan has permission to kill whales for scientific purposes. This year’s catch included Minke whales, but also the endangered Fin whale. Although their decision to exercise that right is unpopular, their Southern Ocean whaling operation is legal. Yet upon being located by Greenpeace, the Japanese ships ceased operating and began running. Holden suspects the move is designed to avoid further exposure.

“Although technically they have permission to be here, they know full well that on every other level it is wrong,” Holden told Crikey. “They don’t want to be subjected to the scrutiny we would bring if they were whaling. They know full well that world opinion is completely against them.”

Japanese whaling factory ship Nisshin Maru runs away from Greenpeace in the Southern Ocean. Photos courtesy of Greenpeace. Greenpeace is not aware of where the Japanese ship is headed, nor how far it will allow itself to be chased from the hunting grounds. Greenpeace says its objective now is to stop the Japanese from whaling for as long as possible, but that isn’t likely to last until whaling season ends in March.

“They refuel at sea so obviously they have a much greater capacity,” Holden said. “We can’t stay here for the whole of the whaling season, but we will stay with them for as long as we can.”