AFP raids anti-whaling boats - for Japan

The Australian Federal Police have raided two boats owned by the anti-whaling group
the Sea Shepherd at the behest of Japanese authorities.
Both the Steve Irwin and the Bob Barker were raided by AFP officers as they docked
in Hobart on Saturday.

Their arrival marked the end of their summer campaign, chasing and clashing with the
Japanese whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean.
The Steve Irwin arrived to Princes Wharf about 8.30am (AEDT) - engine problems had
cut short this season's campaign.
It was greeted by a crowd of well wishers but federal police officers were also
there - armed with a search warrant.
Sea Shepherd boss and the ship's captain Paul Watson was detained and his crew
interviewed before they were released.
He said there is a possibility the raids could lead to a court case.
"They've already seized log books, videos, photographs, charts, GPS recordings and
copies of the computer hard drives," Capt Watson told AAP.
"There's nothing I would love better than to have this whole thing blow up in an
Australian court, let's clean all the laundry once and for all."
Sister vessel the Bob Barker arrived at Princes Wharf about 2.30pm and underwent a
similar search.
"As a result of a formal referral from Japanese authorities the AFP can confirm it
conducted a search warrant on board the Steve Irwin this morning," an AFP spokesman
told AAP.
"The AFP can also confirm it conducted a search warrant onboard the Bob Barker, and
as inquiries are ongoing, it's inappropriate to comment any further at this stage."
Australian Greens leader Bob Brown was present when the Steve Irwin docked and took
aim at the federal government.
"This is outrageous that Australian police are at the disposal of the Japanese whale
killers," Senator Brown told the welcoming crowd.
He said the search warrant used to raid the vessel alleges breaches of Australian
law, not Japanese law.
"The search warrant invokes a lot of potential claims of infringement of laws,
obscure or otherwise, under Australian law.
"Shouldn't the Australian police be waiting on the docks in Tokyo for the real
criminals here?"
A spokeswoman for Senator Brown said video material onboard the ship was being
investigated by the police.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd would not comment directly on the action but said the
government's position on Japanese whaling was clear.
"Either the government of Japan agrees to reduce its current catch from where it is
to zero, in a reasonable time, or the Australian government will prosecute this
matter in the international court of justice and we would initiate that action prior
to the next whaling season," he told reporters in Melbourne.
Capt Watson criticised the government for not investigating a clash between its
vessel, the Ady Gil, and a Japanese whaling boat in January, that led to Ady Gil
being damaged and abandoned at sea.
"The Japanese deliberately rammed and destroyed one of our ships and almost killed
six of our people, but nobody's questioning them - so it seems to be very one
sided."
The AFP searched and seized evidence from the Steve Irwin in 2009, but it didn't
lead to any charges.