Crippled Whaling Ship Poses Antarctic Threat

A Japanese whaling ship crippled by fire drifted off the world’s largest penguin breeding grounds Friday, and New Zealand alerted other countries it may need help if the vessel leaked oil into the pristine Antarctic waters.

One crew member was missing from the 8,000-ton Nisshin Maru, which had started to list from water pumped aboard to fight the fire.

No oil had spilled and the vessel was in no immediate danger of sinking, officials said.

New Zealand Conservation Minister Chris Carter contacted his counterparts in Japan, Australia, United States and Britain — other signatories to the Antarctic Treaty with responsibility for protecting its environment — in case “an international environmental response is needed,” ministerial spokesman Nick Maling said.

Antarctica New Zealand chief executive Lou Sanson said he had asked the U.S. Antarctic program to redirect a scheduled flight over the Nisshin Maru today to check the ship’s condition. The ship was carrying 132,000 gallons of heavy oil and 211,000 gallons of furnace oil.

Search teams were waiting for smoke to clear in the burning area before attempting to assess its condition and search for crewman Kazutaka Makita, 27, Japan Fishery Agency official Kenji Masuda said.

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