Antarctic Disaster Feared After Fire on Japanese Whaler

By Kathy Marks Asia-Pacific Correspondent

There are fears of an environmental disaster in the unspoilt waters off Antarctica after fire broke out on board a Japanese whaling ship, leaving it adrift near penguin breeding grounds.

The fire, which started early yesterday in the whale processing section of the Nisshin Maru, the Japanese fleet’s factory ship, was contained below deck. But one crew member was missing, and New Zealand, which is responsible for that area of the Southern Ocean, warned that there were up to 1,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil on board.

"We don’t need to stress that this is an extremely pristine environment with high biodiversity values," said the New Zealand Conservation Minister, Chris Carter. "From an environmental point of view, we are very concerned should there be any leakage into the Ross Sea."

It was the latest drama to strike the Japanese whaling operation, which has been hampered by protesters from Greenpeace and a militant conservation group, Sea Shepherd. Japan has been hunting whales in the Ross Sea, south-east of Australia, since mid-December, supposedly for scientific purposes. A Sea Shepherd ship collided with a Japanese vessel on Monday, and activists earlier threw acid on the deck of the Nisshin Maru, the fleet’s 8,000-tonne flagship. But protesters were not involved in the fire. Sea Shepherd’s ships were heading to Australia yesterday to refuel, and Japan refused help from a nearby Greenpeace vessel, Esperanza.

Japan, Australia, New Zealand, the US and Britain share responsibility for protecting the environment in Antarctica. Lou Sampson, the chief executive of Antarctica New Zealand, said that the stricken vessel was drifting 100 miles off Cape Adare, home to the world’s largest penguin rookeries, with about 250,000 breeding pairs.

"It’s a long way off the coast, but the currents do go that way," he said. "We’re very concerned."

The cause of the fire, which broke out in the refrigeration area of the whale processing room, is not known. Three Japanese support ships evacuated 126 crew members, while 31 stayed behind to fight the fire, closing hatches and pumping water. New Zealand maritime authorities said the crew were waiting for the fire to burn itself out.

One crewman, Kazutaka Makita, was still missing more than 12 hours after a distress signal was sent out. He is believed to be inside the ship, but it is possible that he fell overboard in the dash to evacuate.

The Nisshin Maru is carrying hundreds of thousands of gallons of heavy oil and furnace oil, as well as the chemicals used in whale processing. Mr Carter said it was starting to list from the water pumped on board. "It’s a serious situation," he said. "A ship badly damaged and full of toxic oil."

The Japanese are said to be confident that the ship is not in danger of sinking. But it remains to be seen whether it can restart its engines once the fire is out.

If not, it will take a week for a tug to reach it from New Zealand, and two days longer from Australia. Until then, the Nisshin Maru will pose a serious environmental threat, particularly if the weather deteriorates in Southern Ocean, where storms and huge seas are commonplace.

Japan said it had no plans to halt this year’s whaling operation. But, depending on the damage caused by the fire, it may have no choice.

(c) 2007 Independent, The; London (UK). Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.