Neptune’s Pirates crew prepares for ‘Operation Ice Storm’ to confront Icelandic whalers
A flagship vessel leading anti-whaling campaigns in international waters has made a stopover in Bermuda and will host an open day tomorrow.
The crew of Neptune’s Pirates, a branch of the Captain Paul Watson Foundation, is preparing their ship for their next campaign.
They are on a mission to protect the oceans, guided by the principles of Captain Paul Watson, a pioneer in the fight against illegal poaching.
Their main focus is to disrupt whaling operations, raise awareness about animal cruelty, and advocate for ocean conservation.
“Basically, if they’re whaling in international waters, they’re breaking the law,” explained Larry Routledge, ship manager and bosun.
“Our job is to highlight that, publicize it, broadcast it, and keep it in the media. We try to actively stop them, but without being overly aggressive. We follow a policy of aggressive non-violence, which means actions like crossing their path or using a water cannon to disrupt their operations.”
The flagship vessel, John Paul DeJoria, which is currently moored in Dockyard, is named after the American entrepreneur who generously donated it.
Mr DeJoria has also contributed a second ship, which is currently being prepared in Melbourne to later confront Japanese whalers. This expansion brings Neptune’s Pirates fleet to two ships, increasing their conservation efforts.
However, defending the ocean from the frontlines is not without its challenges.
Mr Routledge said, “We did have some incidents that resulted in a charge being laid against our founder and leader, Paul Watson. He was in jail for five months last year. We were on our way to Greenland after a failed campaign in Iceland – heading through the Northwest Passage to the North Pacific to intercept the Japanese whalers, who had just built a $42-million factory ship and are whaling actively in the North Pacific. We were confronted in Greenland by the Danish police, who arrested our captain and some of our crew members for an incident that happened in 2010. There’s a lot of controversy and politics in the anti-whaling business, but most of the people you’ll find here are doing it on moral grounds. We soldier on and use any controversy we can muster to get some sort of publicity out of it.”
Following the arrests, the crew abandoned their mission and headed to Halifax for the winter. But when bad weather struck, they decided it was more cost-effective to spend the winter in Bermuda.
During their stay, they’ve been maintaining and preparing the vessel for their next campaign, Operation Ice Storm, where they plan to challenge Icelandic whalers who have received permits to hunt this year.
Currently, the crew is operating with a skeleton team of eight, keeping a strict budget as an NGO to ensure that every dollar raised goes directly to their mission.
When they launch their next campaign, the crew will grow to around 30 members.
As a gesture of gratitude to the islanders who have warmly welcomed them, tomorrow, they’re inviting residents onboard for an open house to share what life is like on their ship.
“The Bermudians have been so friendly towards us and so welcoming and hospitable – we thought we’d give them a chance to have a look at what we do, introduce ourselves,” said Mr Routledge. “We have really appreciated the friendliness; it has been overwhelming. It really is one of the friendliest places I’ve been, and we just thought we’d reciprocate some of that.”
Tours will be held on the hour from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. tomorrow.
