Industry Snapshots

Whale Wars! Anti whaling boat claims Japanese whaling ship rammed it in the Antarctic.


The New Zealand 18 tonne catamaran Ady Gil had its bow ripped open in the collision with the 1000 tonne whaling ship Shonan Maru 2 last week. Six crewmembers on the catamaran escaped unhurt.

Japanese whalers and protesters from the Sea Shepherd activist group are blaming each other for the mishap that occurred in remote Antarctic waters. The Ady Gil is a Sea Shepherd activist vessel that was protesting Japanese whaling in the Antarctic when they collided; she is now being repaired. Meanwhile, Japan has complained to New Zealand about the incident, calling it ‘felonious’. Japan stopped commercial whaling in 1986 but international law allows it to continue the activity under a ‘research programme’ that conservationists say kills more than 1,000 whales per year for their meat.

Whalers and activists regularly confront each other in the frigid waters around the Antarctic. Sea Shepherd representative Paul Watson said the incident had turned the confrontations into a "real whale war"; the group has vowed to continue its protests. Meanwhile, New Zealand and Australia have both said they will investigate the collision, calling on both sides to ‘stop activities that could endanger lives’.



The Jack Tar “Sexy Women of Maritime Calendar” 2010 is now out:

The brainchild of Kim Carver, a mariner who roped in other female mariners from around Seattle, USA and got them to pose in various stages of undress on ships and other locations, the calendar was started in 2009 to help Kim finance her maritime magazine.

Carver says, “There are plenty of women out there in the maritime industry. And you can be a girl. You can be sexy and you can travel and you can have fun and you can make money, and it’s fine working with men.” The calendar models include Elaine, Miss September, who has a 500-ton Master license and has images of tall ships she has sailed on tattooed on her thigh. Weronica is a Bosun who lives in Poland. Meegan, who appears on the cover of the 2010 calendar wearing only rubber boots and overalls, has worked on a salmon boat and cage dived with great white sharks. Then there’s Lia, a stunning six-foot brunette from Seattle who is a scientist and plans to appear for the 100-ton Coast Guard Master license.

“They’re sexy and strong and funny and motivated and ambitious,” says 36 year old Carver, who has sailed on tall ships as Captain and crewmember, besides having worked on tugboats and water taxis. She is also Miss January. She started a maritime magazine called ‘Jack Tar’ in 2007 and has published four issues so far. Kim is presently publishing on her blog until she raises more cash selling the calendars via CafePress.com, a ‘print on demand’ company. Carver says the calendar is supposed to encourage more women to work at sea, and demonstrate that tough and sexy aren’t mutually exclusive. We think it is enough to encourage men to run away to sea too.
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