MV Steve Irwin

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Career
MV Steve Irwin approaching Melbourne in February 2008
Name:	1975–2005: FPV Westra 2005–2007: MV Robert Hunter 2007– : MV Steve Irwin
Owner:	1975–1999: Secretary of State for Scotland 1999–2005: Scottish Ministers 2005– : Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
Operator:	1975–2003: Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency 2005– : Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
Ordered:	1974
Builder:	Hall, Russell & Company, Aberdeen, Scotland
Yard number:	962
In service:	1975–2003 2005–
Out of service:	2003–2005 (laid up for disposal)
Homeport:	1975–2003: Leith, Scotland 2005– Melbourne, Australia
Status:	in service
General characteristics
Tonnage:	885 grt
Length:	59.43 m (196 ft)
Beam:	10.97 m (36 ft)
Draught:	4.26 m (14 ft)
Installed power:	heavy oil
Propulsion:	2 x British Polar Engines 12 cylinder 2,100 bhp (1,600 kW), driving a variable-pitch propeller
Speed:	12.5 knots (23 km/h) – 16.5 knots (31 km/h)
Notes:	^[1]

MV Steve Irwin is a 59-meter (195 ft) former conservation enforcement ship owned by Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. The vessel was built in 1975 and served as a Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency patrol boat (FPV Westra) for 28 years.

Sea Shepherd had previously christened the vessel the MV Robert Hunter after Canadian Robert Hunter,^[2] co-founder of the Greenpeace Foundation, but was renamed in honor of the late Crocodile Hunter host Steve Irwin on December 5, 2007.^[3] Irwin had considered joining the vessel on an upcoming voyage to Antarctica shortly before his untimely death, and the renaming was endorsed by his widow Terri.^[4]

1 Registration problems
2 Career
- 2.1 2008
3 Gallery
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Registration problems

Like Sea Shepherd's other vessel, the RV Farley Mowat, Steve Irwin has had issues with its registration. In January 2007, the ship was struck from the British Ship Register after a Japanese request.^[5]

The ship has been registered in the Netherlands as of October 8, 2007.^[6]

[edit] Career

The FPV Westra^[1] was laid up ready for disposal in 2003 when Sea Shepherd purchased her and renamed her the Robert Hunter.

In February 2007, the Robert Hunter and Farley Mowat attempted to prevent the Japanese whaling vessel Kaiko Maru from hunting in an action Sea Shepherd called Operation Leviathan. Sea Shepherd members threw bottles of butyric acid onto the decks of the Kaiko Maru and one whaler was injured by a broken piece of glass and another received medical treatment for his eye.^[7] The Robert Hunter and Farley Mowat obstructed the path of the whaling boat,^[8] and the Robert Hunter and Kaiko Maru collided with each other. One Japanese official accused the Sea Shepherd organisation of behaving "like pirates". The Robert Hunter sustained a "3-foot gash in the hull above the waterline" at the stern of the ship.^[9] Three days after the collision, an unrelated fire broke out in the engine room of the whaling factory ship Nisshin Maru and killed one crew member.^[10]

The Steve Irwin has also participated in "Operation Migaloo"^[11] (named after Migaloo, the albino humpback whale) that started in November 2007,^[12] and after repairs were completed in Launceston and a brief stop over in Melbourne, she was scheduled to depart for the Antarctic on December 1, 2007. Some media have reported that during this operation, Sea Shepherd vowed to ram Japanese vessels involved in the hunting of whales.^[13] Sea Shepherd, however, has denied this statement, saying that they are a non-violent organization.^[14]

[edit] 2008

On January 15, 2008, after throwing bottles of malodorous acid onto the decks and attempting to entangle a hunting boat's propeller,^[15] two Sea Shepherd members boarded the Japanese whaling vessel Yashin Maru No. 2. They later stated that their intent had been to present a protest note^[16] to its captain. Benjamin Potts, a 28-year-old cook from Sydney, Australia, and Giles Lane, a 35-year-old engineer from Leeds, Great Britain, were detained by crew of the Yashin Maru No. 2.

Sea Shepherd claimed that the two had been kidnapped and tied to the radar mast for several hours with ropes and zip ties.^[17] Potts and Lane, however, later stated that they were tied for only fifteen minutes to the side of the ship and a couple of minutes to the radio mast before being taken below deck. ^[18] Glenn Inwood, a spokesperson for the whalers from the Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR), said that the activists were being held in an unlocked office, but were being guarded.^[19] In another statement, they stated that the action of boarding their vehicle was illegal and that the men were being held pending decisions on their future.^[20]

On January 16, the ICR issued a statement claiming that the protesters had thrown canisters of acid on board the ship and attempted to damage property. They also denied claims that the men had been assaulted and tied to the ship's mast. Hideki Moronuki further stated that "The ICR (Institute of Cetacean Research) is ready to release the two intruders provided that full security can be secured for our research vessel. Sea Shepherd is a very violent organization." In a letter faxed to the Steve Irwin, the ICR stated that part of the handover conditions include that Sea Shepherd "must not take any violent action or video/photo shooting activities against us."^[21] The acid in question was, according to Sea Shepherd, butyric acid, which was used not to damage the ship itself but to render the work-deck unusable due to its foul and long-lasting smell.^[22]

On January 17, the Australian customs ship MV Oceanic Viking started preparation to transfer the two men held on the whaling vessel.^[23] On the morning of January 18, the two men were safely transferred to the MV Oceanic Viking.^[24]. The incident is being investigated by the Australian Federal Police.^[25]

Both sides accused the other of terrorism during the incident. The ICR called the butyric acid attack on the Yashin Maru No. 2 an "inhumane terrorist attack" and called on the Australian Government to seize the Steve Irwin.^[26] Conversely, Steve Irwin 1st Officer Peter Brown stated that “the Institute of Cetacean Research is acting like a terrorist organization [...] Here they are taking hostages and making demands. Our policy is that we don’t respond to terrorist demands.”^[27]