Farley Mowat (Sea Shepherd vessel)

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The R/V Farley Mowat is the flagship of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's fleet. She was purchased in Edinburgh, Scotland in August 1996, and is a long-range, ice-class, heavy-duty, conservation enforcement ship.

Contents 1 Construction and registration 1.1 Registration problems 2 Career 3 Pictures 4 External links

[edit] Construction and registration

The ship was built in 1956 as a Norwegian Fisheries research and enforcement ship. At 54 meters (180 ft) in length and 657 tons (displacement), her one-inch thick riveted, welded steel hull was built to withstand the violent pounding of the storm-haunted North Sea.

The ship's massive German-built diesel engine drives a variable pitch propeller that is protected inside a Kort nozzle. This allows the 1400 horsepower engine to maneuver efficiently and accelerate quickly.

Originally christened Sea Shepherd III, she was re-named Ocean Warrior in 1999 to reflect the missions and campaigns that face her in the new millennium.

In 2002, after months of bureaucratic paper shuffling and payments of extortionist demands by the Cayman Islands Bureau of Shipping, the Ocean Warrior was re-registered in Canada. She was renamed the Farley Mowat after Sea Shepherd's International Chair, Farley Mowat, Canadian author and animal welfare advocate.

[edit] Registration problems

The ship is currently a pirate vessel, as it is operating without a registration flag.

The Farley Mowat cleared Australian Customs in Hobart, Tasmania, on December 29th, 2006, only hours before the nation of Belize struck its flag. The Belize registry had only been issued ten days before on December 19, 2006

The Belize registry was sought after Britain pulled the registry in early December the same day it was issued. In October, the Farley Mowat, registered under the Canadian flag since April, 2002, had her registry suspended by Canada.

[edit] Career

The R/V Farley Mowat officially began her career in the waters off Costa Rica appropriately immersed in controversy over policing actions against illegal fishing activities.

The Society uses the vessel to monitor international waters for violations of international fisheries agreements.

Length	54 meters
Displacement	657 tons
Power	1400 horsepower
Propulsion	Variable pitch propeller encased in a Kort nozzle
Launched	1956
Names	1956 Norwegian research vessel 1996 Sea Shepherd III 1999 Ocean Warrior 2002 RV Farley Mowat

[edit] Pictures

Photos taken on board the Farley Mowat during her stay in Melbourne, Australia in 2006.

Control Room, Sea Shepherd, Farley Mowat	Antarctica Map, Sea Shepherd, Farley Mowat	Cannon, Sea Shepherd, Farley Mowat	Zodiacs, Sea Shepherd, Farley Mowat
Crew, Sea Shepherd, Farley Mowat	Note the creature in the glass dome. It was given by the Dali Lama, Sea Shepherd, Farley Mowat	Educational tour about Sea Shepherd's vision - to protect the whales	Helicopter landing pad, Sea Shepherd, Farley Mowat

[edit] External links

• Brief description of the vessel, with photos, from a philatelic society's site, dating to a visit the Farley Mowat made to New Zealand.
• Original source with picture and description of other ships in their fleet from SeaShepherd's site].
• Melbourne newspaper "The Age", Jan 10 2007.
• Indymedia report on vessel deregistration.
• Sea Shepherd News - Confessions of a Modern Southern Oceans Pirate by Captain Paul Watson, 28 December 2006.
• Melbourne newspaper "The Age", 8th February 2007 - Unregistered pirate vessel Farley Mowat fails to locate Japanese whalers, unable to return to port