Vessels
Sea Shepherd refer to the ships it has operated as Neptune's Navy. The society operates three ships, the Steve Irwin, the Bob Barker, and the Brigitte Bardot, as well as smaller vessels such as RHIBs.
The Steve Irwin was obtained in 2007 and originally called the Robert Hunter. It was renamed in honor of The Crocodile Hunter star Steve Irwin. His widow, Terri, gave her support to Sea Shepherd, saying: "Whales have always been in Steve's heart and in 2006 he was investigating the possibility of joining the Sea Shepherd on part of its journey to defend these beautiful animals." The other ship, the 1200 ton Bob Barker, was named after famous television game-show host and animal activist Bob Barker, who made the purchase in Ghana of the retired Norwegian whaling vessel possible with a donation of US$5 million. In February 2010, the Bob Barker collided with the Japanese whaling vessel Yushin Maru No. 3, tearing a gash in the hull of the Bob Barker.
The group also formerly operated the Farley Mowat (impounded by the Canadian government, with Sea Shepherd having stated that they have no intention of paying the legal fines and berthage fees to recover their now obsolete vessel) and the Ady Gil, formerly known as the Earthrace (sunk after a collision with the Shōnan Maru 2 whaling security vessel in early 2010) as well as a number of earlier vessels.
Sea Shepherd acquired the Ocean 7 Adventurer for its 2010-11 campaign against Japanese whaling in the Antarctic. In November 2010, mayor Brad Pettitt of Fremantle, Western Australia, christened the vessel Gojira with Fremantle as its home town, making this the first Sea Shepherd ship registered in Australia, with an Australian crew. The Gojira was renamed MV Brigitte Bardot in May 2011 after complaints of copyright infringement by the owners of the "Gojira" copyright.
For the 2011-12 Antarctic campaign, the organization acquired non-weaponized drone aircraft to assist in their surveillance of the whaling ships.
In July 2012 Sam Simon, a co-creator of The Simpsons, was reported to donate money to purchase the fourth vessel, a former German icebreaker. The ship will be named after him and is expected to be operational for the next Antarctic operation.
Read more about this topic: Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
Famous quotes containing the word vessels:
“So near along life’s stream are the fountains of innocence and youth making fertile its sandy margin; and the voyageur will do well to replenish his vessels often at these uncontaminated sources.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Just as bones, tissues, intestines, and blood vessels are enclosed in a skin that makes it possible to bear the sight of a human being, so the agitations and passions of the soul are wrapped up in vanity: it is the soul’s skin.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“First, there is the power of the Wind, constantly exerted over the globe.... Here is an almost incalculable power at our disposal, yet how trifling the use we make of it! It only serves to turn a few mills, blow a few vessels across the ocean, and a few trivial ends besides. What a poor compliment do we pay to our indefatigable and energetic servant!”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)