Activists throw 'stink' bombs at Japanese whaler

2008-12-27  |     ONLINE EDITION

ENVIRONMENTALISTS chasing a Japanese whaling fleet off Antarctica threw "stink" bombs at one of the vessels, Japanese authorities and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society said.

In a statement posted on its website, the US-based environmental group said the Japanese ship, the Kaiko Maru, was spotted by its vessel the Steve Irwin north of Mawson Peninsula.

"The Sea Shepherd crew pursued and delivered 10 bottles of rotten butter and 15 bottles of a methyl cellulose and indelible dye mixture," said the statement, which was dated Friday.

"That is one stinky slippery ship," Sea Shepherd's Peter Hammarstedt said.

The Japanese Fisheries Agency said no one was hurt and the Japanese vessel was not damaged during the incident which lasted about three hours, Kyodo news agency reported.

Japan's whaling fleet is in the Antarctic for an annual hunt. Despite an international ban on whaling, Japan justifies the hunt on the grounds this whaling is for "scientific" purposes.

Much of the meat ends up on supermarket shelves.