7 Jan 2012

(AP) CANBERRA, Australia -- Three anti-whaling activists boarded a Japanese
vessel off southwest Australia on Sunday as part of a campaign to stop whale
hunting in Antarctic waters.

The three Australian men boarded the Shonan Maru No. 2 in early morning
darkness as it tailed the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's flagship the
Steve Irwin, the conservation group said in a statement.

The three activists, who are members of an environmental group, said they
were helping Sea Shepherd "end illegal whale poaching."

The whale hunts, which Japan says are for scientific purposes, are allowed
by the International Whaling Commission as an exception to the 1986 ban on
whaling. But opponents say they are a cover for commercial whaling because
whale meat not used for study is sold for consumption in Japan.

Glenn Inwood, spokesman for Japan's Tokyo-based Institute of Cetacean
Research, which sponsors the annual whale hunt, confirmed that the three had
boarded the vessel and were being questioned. The activists were not
injured.

"I would describe them as volunteer detainees," Inwood said...

full story: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501712_162-57354577/3-aussie-activists-board-japanese-whaling-vessel/

Three Australian activists from the group Forest Rescue have boarded Japanese whaling ship Shonan Maru #2 in an effort to assist Sea Shepherd's campaign.

According to a statement from Sea Shepherd, Geoffrey Owen Tuxworth, Simon Peterffy and Glen Pendlebury are all still on board being detained as prisoners. The activists came by boat to interfere with the whaling ship as it tailed the Sea Shepherd vessel Steve Irwin in Australian waters, 22 miles Northwest of Bunbury, Western Australia.

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full story:
http://www.ecorazzi.com/2012/01/07/australian-activists-being-held-on-japanese-whaling-ship/