VARIOUS: New Zealand minister says Japanese whaling ship on fire near Antarctica may cause environmental disaster

New Zealand's Conservation Minister Chris Carter has said a fire on Japanese whaling ship sailing near Antarctica could cause an environmental disaster if oil, toxic chemicals or fuel leaks into pristine waters of Southern Ocean. A Japanese whaling ship was on fire and one crew member was missing off the coast of Antarctica after a blaze broke out below decks, New Zealand maritime authorities said on Thursday (February 15). "Good morning, we have a very serious situation in Southern Ocean, at 05:15 am this morning, the Japanese vessel Nisshin Naru, the mother ship of the Japanese whaling fleet, experienced a fire on board the vessel, which has now become a very serious issue," said conservation minister Chris Carter. "There are now three vessels that are alongside the stricken vessel, crew on the Nisshin Maru the factory vessel, have been evacuated to the vessels around the factory ship and we understand there are still up to twenty people on board the factory ship where the fire is, attempting to put the fire out. At the moment we believe that there is one casualty that has not yet been confirmed," said Maritime Director Catherine Taylor. The fire broke out at about 1600 GMT (5 a.m. New Zealand time) on the black-hulled Nisshin Maru, the 8,000 tonne flagship of the Japan whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean. Carter was concerned the ship could cause environmental damage. "Environmental point of view we are very concerned should there be any leakage of this material into the Ross Sea. We are conscious that this is an extreme environment, at the moment weather conditions are stable and the Japanese are working hard to try and put out the fire. Luckily the fire did not occur in the engine room but on the factory deck and so if the Japanese are able to contain the fire it may be possible for Nisshin Maru's engines to be repaired and for it to sail under its own power, we are not sure about that yet," Carter said. "Well, we would be very reluctant to have Nisshin Maru not only because it is a whaling vessel and it is being engaged in activities to which we do not support or approve of, but also of course it is a ship that damaged and has a lot of very nasty chemicals on board," added Carter. The blaze, a Maritime New Zealand spokesman said, had nothing to do with environmental activists who had been harassing the fleet for the past two days, at one stage colliding their boat with another Japanese vessel. He said the cause of the fire was unknown. Sea conditions in the area had been calm with no wind. Greenpeace released video on Tuesday (February 13) showing the protest ship Sea Shepherd chasing the Nisshin Maru on Monday (February 12). No assistance had been requested or sent to the area -- 265 nautical miles north of the U.S. McMurdo Base in Antarctica and near the so-called Bay of Whales -- by New Zealand's government. In addition to five Japanese whaling boats, the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Polar Sea was based in the area, while the icebreaking research ship Nathaniel B. Palmer was also nearby. Environmental group Greenpeace, which has a ship the Esperenza in the Ross Sea area about 700 km (435 miles) from the stricken vessel, said the burning ship posed a danger to Antarctic wildlife.

ITN Source | February 15, 2007

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