MY ''Ady Gil'' (formerly ''Earthrace'') was a ,
wave-piercing
A wave-piercing boat hull has a very fine bow, with reduced buoyancy in the forward portions. When a wave is encountered, the lack of buoyancy means the hull pierces through the water rather than riding over the top, resulting in a smoother ri ...
trimaran
A trimaran (or double-outrigger) is a multihull boat that comprises a main hull and two smaller outrigger hulls (or "floats") which are attached to the main hull with lateral beams. Most modern trimarans are sailing yachts designed for recreati ...
originally created as part of a project to break the world record for
circumnavigating the globe in a powerboat. Powered by
biodiesel
Biodiesel is a form of diesel fuel derived from plants or animals and consisting of long-chain fatty acid esters. It is typically made by chemically reacting lipids such as animal fat (tallow), soybean oil, or some other vegetable oil with ...
fuel, the vessel was also capable of running on regular diesel fuel.
It used other eco-friendly materials such as vegetable oil lubricants, hemp composites, and non-toxic
anti-fouling
Biofouling or biological fouling is the accumulation of microorganisms, plants, algae, or small animals where it is not wanted on surfaces such as ship and submarine hulls, devices such as water inlets, pipework, grates, ponds, and rivers that ...
, and had features such as bilge-water filters.
[
The first attempt at the global circumnavigation record in 2007 was ill-fated. The boat encountered mechanical problems on several occasions and collided with a ]Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
n fishing boat, killing one of the other boat's crew. While the crew of the ''Earthrace'' was later absolved of any responsibility, the delay forced the restart of the record attempt, while more mechanical issues later aborted it. In 2008, the second journey proved successful—though again, numerous technical problems had to be overcome before the record was achieved, with the vessel finally making the return to Sagunto, Spain after just under 61 days on 27 June 2008.
In late 2009, it was announced that the boat, now repainted black and named ''Ady Gil'', would be participating in anti-whaling
Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution.
It was practiced as an organized industry ...
operations under the lead of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) is a non-profit, marine conservation activism organization based in Friday Harbor, Washington, Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, Washington, in the United States. Sea Shepherd employs direct action t ...
. During operations in the Southern Ocean
The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is regarded as the second-small ...
, the vessel and the Japanese whaling support vessel collided on 6 January 2010, resulting in loss of the ''Ady Gils bow and injuring one crew member.[ ] Each side blamed the other for causing the collision, and government agencies began an investigation into the incident. The crew of the ''Ady Gil'' were removed from the damaged vessel and the salvage operation was abandoned, with the vessel sinking the next day.[ABC News, 8 January 2010]
Ady Gil sinks after whaling skirmish
/ref>
Design
The vessel was designed by LOMOcean Design
LOMOcean Design is a naval architecture and yacht design company based in Auckland, New Zealand.
History
LOMOcean Design, previously known as Craig Loomes Design Group ltd., was Incorporation (business), incorporated in 1993, but has some desi ...
(formerly Craig Loomes Design Group Ltd.) and built by Calibre Boats in Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
, New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. The wave-piercing trimaran design allowed for improved speed and stability. The boat was fully submersible, able to cut through waves and go underwater.[ The hull was composed of a composite carbon fibre and kevlar with a non-toxic ]anti-fouling paint
Anti-fouling paint is a specialized category of coatings applied as the outer (outboard) layer to the hull of a ship or boat, to slow the growth of and facilitate detachment of subaquatic organisms that attach to the hull and can affect a vess ...
.
The vessel was powered by two 540 horsepower
Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are the ...
Cummins
Cummins Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and distributes engines, filtration, and power generation products. Cummins also services engines and related equipment, including fuel systems, controls, air ...
Mercruiser
Mercury Marine is a marine engine division of Brunswick Corporation headquartered in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. The main product line is outboard motors. It also produces the MerCruiser line of sterndrives and inboard motors. Some manufacturing ...
engines that ran on an animal fat and vegetable oil mix biodiesel
Biodiesel is a form of diesel fuel derived from plants or animals and consisting of long-chain fatty acid esters. It is typically made by chemically reacting lipids such as animal fat (tallow), soybean oil, or some other vegetable oil with ...
. It could be run on diesel, biodiesel or blends. To cool and provide fresh air to the engines, intake
An intake (also inlet) is an opening, structure or system through which a fluid is admitted to a space or machine as a consequence of a pressure differential between the outside and the inside. The pressure difference may be generated on the ins ...
s were located on two dramatic fin
A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. Fin ...
s. The ''Ady Gils twin propellers were mounted under the main hull, while the rudders were mounted in the pontoons. This design provided good turning at speed, but limited maneuverability at speeds below 12 knots.[ Despite its design as an "eco-boat", David MacKay calculates that it has significantly greater energy consumption per passenger-kilometre than a ]jet-ski
A personal watercraft (PWC), also called water scooter or jet ski, is a recreational watercraft that a rider sits or stands on, not within, as in a boat. PWCs have two style categories, first and most popular being a runabout or "sit down" whe ...
or the ''QE2''.
The $2.5 million cost was mostly funded by sponsors, and the only luxury item aboard was the $10,000 toilet. When asked, "Regrets about the cost of it all?" skipper Pete Bethune
Captain Peter James Bethune (born 4 April 1965) is a New Zealand ship's captain with 500 ton master licence, published author, producer of ''The Operatives'' TV show, and public speaker. He is the founder of ''Earthrace Conservation''. He work ...
replied, "No … You know, I do have the coolest boat in the world."
Record attempts
''Earthrace'' was intended to showcase environmentally friendly technologies. It broke the world record for circumnavigating the globe in a motorized boat. It set the record in 60 days 23 hours and 49 minutes. This beat the record of 74 days, 20 hours, 58 minutes set by the '' Cable and Wireless Adventurer'' (then the '' Ocean 7 Adventurer''), in 1998, by 13 days 21 hours and 9 minutes. It is unclear if the circumnavigation was faster than the disputed time set by the US Navy's USS ''Triton'' nuclear-powered submarine during Operation Sandblast
Operation Sandblast was the code name for the first submerged circumnavigation of the world, executed by the United States Navy nuclear-powered radar picket submarine in 1960 under the command of Captain Edward L. Beach Jr.
The circumnavigatio ...
.
The time established by ''Earthrace'' did not supersede the overall record set by the 103-ft sailing trimaran ''Groupama 3
''Groupama 3'' is a high performance racing sailing trimaran designed for transoceanic record-setting ''IDEC SPORT'' ''Banque Populaire VII'', ''Lending Club 2'', ''IDEC 3''). She is one of the world's fastest ocean-going sailing vessels and ...
'' skipped by Franck Cammas with 48d 7h 44' 52" or the latest 2012 record set by ''Banque Populaire V
''Banque Populaire V'', (now renamed ''Spindrift 2'') is an offshore-racing trimaran which was originally run by Team Banque Populaire. It was Team Banque Populaire's fifth boat designed to set oceanic records. She was launched on 4 October 20 ...
'', a 131-ft trimaran skipped by Loïck Peyron, with 45d 13h 42' 53".
2007
The attempt originally departed from Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...
on 10 March 2007 but encountered significant delays including problems with the propellers and other mechanical issues.
A problem with an engine off Palau
Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the Caro ...
caused an 8-day delay because of the remoteness. On the night of 19 March 2007, while around offshore from Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
, ''Earthrace'' collided with a local fishing boat. No ''Earthrace'' crew were hurt, but one of the three crew members from the fishing boat was never found. The crew was absolved of any responsibility after a 10-day investigation during which they were held in custody. The delays prevented ''Earthrace'' from completing the circumnavigation in record time, but because ''Earthrace'' took an official start time when leaving San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
, the team decided to "restart" with this new start/finish line. They departed San Diego on 7 April 2007 and needed to return by 21 June to break the record. However, the attempt was abandoned on 31 May 2007 after a crack was discovered in the hull shortly after leaving Málaga
Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...
, Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
.
The biofuel came from a wide range of suppliers and was derived from various cash crops. Bethune reluctantly had to fall back on conventional diesel once due to a lack of availability.
2008
After a refit at the Vulkan Shipyard at the Port of Sagunto
Sagunto ( ca-valencia, Sagunt) is a municipality of Spain, located in the province of Valencia, Valencian Community. It belongs to the modern fertile ''comarca'' of Camp de Morvedre. It is located c. 30 km north of the city of Valencia, cl ...
, a second attempt on the record began at 14:35 (CET) on 27 April 2008. On board were Rob Drewett (cameraman), Adam Carlson (navigator), Mark Russel (engineer) and Bethune (skipper/owner). The route for the second world record attempt and estimated time for each leg was as follows:
* Sagunto
Sagunto ( ca-valencia, Sagunt) is a municipality of Spain, located in the province of Valencia, Valencian Community. It belongs to the modern fertile ''comarca'' of Camp de Morvedre. It is located c. 30 km north of the city of Valencia, cl ...
(Spain) – Azores: 3 days
* Azores
)
, motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace")
, anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores")
, image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg
, map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union
, map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...
– Puerto Rico: 3 days
* Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
– Panama: 3 days
* Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...
– Manzanillo (Mexico): 3 days
* Manzanillo – San Diego: 3 days.
* San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
– Hawaii: 5 days
* Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
– Majuro (Marshall Islands): 5 days
* Majuro
Majuro (; Marshallese: ' ) is the capital and largest city of the Marshall Islands. It is also a large coral atoll of 64 islands in the Pacific Ocean. It forms a legislative district of the Ratak (Sunrise) Chain of the Marshall Islands. The ato ...
– Koror (Palau): 5 days
* Koror
Koror is the state comprising the main commercial centre of the Republic of Palau. It consists of several islands, the most prominent being Koror Island (also ''Oreor Island''). It is Palau’s most populous state.
History
In the oral tradition ...
– Singapore: 5 days
* Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
– Kochi (India): 5 days
* Kochi
Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...
– Salalah (Oman): 4 days
* Salalah
Salalah ( ar, صَلَالَة, Ṣalālah) is the capital and largest city of the southern Omani governorate of Dhofar. Its population in 2009 was about 197,169.
Salalah is the third-largest city in the Sultanate of Oman, and the largest city ...
– Suez Canal (Egypt): 4 days
* Suez Canal
The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...
– Sagunto: 4 days
The boat experienced problems with the autopilot
An autopilot is a system used to control the path of an aircraft, marine craft or spacecraft without requiring constant manual control by a human operator. Autopilots do not replace human operators. Instead, the autopilot assists the operator' ...
two days after departure, and then on 30 April the lift pump of the starboard engine became blocked. However, although some time was lost, the boat arrived at the Azores slightly ahead of schedule for the world record attempt and with all technical problems apparently solved.
The next two legs went without any major problems and the crew managed to bypass a big backlog of ships in the Panama Canal. On day 22 about half way to Hawaii, a severe vibration caused them to stop and after Bethune went under the boat in the dark with a torch to investigate, he discovered that some nylon netting was entangled in one prop and had to be removed.
Shortly after leaving Palau on day 34, ''Earthrace'' struck submerged debris which sheared two blades off the port propeller and bent the drive shaft. This necessitated a return to Palau in order to assess the damage and remove the prop. The boat then continued to Singapore on one engine, while plans were set in motion to manufacture a new drive shaft and obtain another propeller. Once in Singapore, ''Earthrace'' was hoisted from the water in a sling and repairs were effected on the dockside in record time.
On day 48 the crew were suffering from heat and high humidity
Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present.
Humidity depe ...
and were all affected by heat rash. At this time they had also encountered monsoon
A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...
weather and their speed was much reduced due to mountainous waves. The heavy seas continued all the way to Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...
and beyond before entering the Red Sea
The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...
. During this stretch the boat's transponder was damaged and the marine tracker stopped working. On day 56, en route to Port Suez
The Suez Port is an Egyptian port located at the southern boundary of the Suez Canal. It is bordered by the imaginary line extending from Ras-El-Adabieh to Moussa sources including the North Coast until the entrance of Suez Canal. Originally ''Por ...
, the lift pump malfunctioned, limiting their speed to 16 knots. This required three hours worth of maintenance to change it.
On Friday, 27 June 2008, ''Earthrace'' set a new world record for powered circumnavigation of the globe, when it crossed the finish line at 14:24 CET at Sagunto, Spain.
Cooperation with Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
Participation in 'Waltzing Matilda'
It was announced that the ''Earthrace'' would accompany Sea Shepherd
The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of water, body of saline water, salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote List of seas, second-order sections of ...
in its 2009–10 operations (named 'Waltzing Matilda
"Waltzing Matilda" is a song developed in the Australian style of poetry and folk music called a bush ballad. It has been described as the country's "unofficial national anthem".
The title was Australian slang for travelling on foot (waltzing) ...
') against Japanese whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary
The Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary is an area of 50 million square kilometres surrounding the continent of Antarctica where the International Whaling Commission (IWC) has banned all types of commercial whaling. To date, the IWC has designated two ...
. Bethune said that an agreement was reached with Sea Shepherd for the boat to adopt a support role. Sea Shepherd noted that the vessel had been the only one in the fleet fast enough to keep up with all vessels of the Japanese whaling fleet.
On 17 October 2009, the ''Earthrace'' was presented to the media with a new black paint job, and it was renamed ''Ady Gil'', after the name of a major sponsor (a Hollywood lighting-equipment magnate who had donated $1 million to the group). The new paint job and futuristic appearance of the boat itself often evoked comparisons to Batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
vehicles and stealth craft in the media.
4–8 layers of Kevlar
Kevlar (para-aramid) is a strong, heat-resistant synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed by Stephanie Kwolek at DuPont in 1965, the high-strength material was first used commercially in the early 1970s a ...
were added to protect the hull against ice with the thickness depending on the location, with all areas under the waterline getting the extra laminations of kevlar as well as some areas above the waterline. To reduce its radar profile for the Japanese fleet, the ship was painted with a paint intended to scatter radar signals and a broadband radar which has near-zero radar emissions. Despite being referred to as a stealth craft, the ''Ady Gil'' lacks the angles and curvature of form designed to deflect radar away from the emitter rather than back to them. Other electronics upgrades included FLIR
Forward-looking infrared (FLIR) cameras, typically used on military and civilian aircraft, use a thermographic camera that senses infrared radiation.
The sensors installed in forward-looking infrared cameras, as well as those of other thermal ...
cameras, Iridium
Iridium is a chemical element with the symbol Ir and atomic number 77. A very hard, brittle, silvery-white transition metal of the platinum group, it is considered the second-densest naturally occurring metal (after osmium) with a density of ...
satellite communications as well as an array of speakers which were intended for communication purposes. Bethune said that he intended to play songs like ''Tangaroa
Tangaroa (Takaroa in the South Island) is the great of the sea, lakes, rivers, and creatures that live within them, especially fish, in Māori mythology. As Tangaroa-whakamau-tai he exercises control over the tides. He is sometimes depicted as ...
'' from New Zealand musician Tiki Taane
Tiki Taane (born 17 December 1976) is a New Zealand-based musician, experimentalist, musical activist, producer, and live engineer. He was a member of leading New Zealand band Salmonella Dub but left after eleven years on 1 January 2007 to pur ...
to the whalers, a "growling big sort of a song about the God of the Sea who looks after us".
Sea Shepherd crew said before the journey that ''Ady Gil'' would not be used as a confrontational vessel like the ''Steve Irwin''. However, Sea Shepherd leader Paul Watson
Paul Franklin Watson (born December 2, 1950) is a Canadian-American conservation and environmental movement, environmental activist, who founded the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, an anti-poaching and direct action group focused on marine c ...
, President of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, later stated in October 2009 that with a top speed of 50 knots, the vessel would be used to intercept harpoon
A harpoon is a long spear-like instrument and tool used in fishing, whaling, seal hunting, sealing, and other marine hunting to catch and injure large fish or marine mammals such as seals and whales. It accomplishes this task by impaling the t ...
ships and physically block them from harpooning whales, allowing Sea Shepherd to "mount the most ambitious and aggressive effort to date to obstruct the slaughter of the whales in the Southern Ocean."
Collision with the ''Shōnan Maru 2'' and abandonment
During the days before the collision, the ''Ady Gil'' engaged Japanese whaling vessels during their hunt. The crew towed ropes in an attempt to foul the propellers of the Japanese ships and used a potato cannon
A potato cannon is a pipe-based cannon that uses air pressure (pneumatic), or combustion of a flammable gas (aerosol, propane, etc.), to launch projectiles at high speeds. They are built to fire chunks of potato, as a hobby, or to fire other so ...
to fire capsules of foul-smelling butyric acid
Butyric acid (; from grc, βούτῡρον, meaning "butter"), also known under the systematic name butanoic acid, is a straight-chain alkyl carboxylic acid with the chemical formula CH3CH2CH2CO2H. It is an oily, colorless liquid with an unple ...
which taints the whale meat
Whale meat, broadly speaking, may include all cetaceans (whales, dolphins, porpoises) and all parts of the animal: muscle (meat), organs (offal), skin (muktuk), and fat (blubber). There is relatively little demand for whale meat, compared to ...
the whalers get from their hunts.
On 6 January 2010, the vessel was involved in a collision at sea with the Japanese vessel ''Shōnan Maru 2'', which was engaged in security and support for the whaling fleet. One ''Ady Gil'' crew member, a New Zealand cameraman, sustained six broken ribs. Crew on three vessels, the ''Shōnan Maru 2'', the ''Ady Gil'', and the , a Sea Shepherd Conservation Society support ship, took footage of the incident, and video of the incident has been released by both the Institute of Cetacean Research
The is a Japanese entity that claims to be a research organization specializing in the "biological and social sciences related to whales".
In the past, it killing several hundred whales per year in the name of its 'research', the validity and ...
and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
Each side blames the other for the incident, arguing that the skipper of the other vessel miscalculated during a dangerous maneuver. Bethune has said that he believes the captain of the Japanese vessel had miscalculated while trying to scrape the bow of the ''Ady Gil''. In a statement released by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, Chuck Swift, who witnessed the incident from his ship, the ''Bob Barker'', claimed that both vessels were stationary in the water when the ''Shōnan Maru 2'' "started up and then steered deliberately into the ''Ady Gil''". Paul Watson initially claimed that the ''Ady Gil'' was almost stationary in the water when the ''Shōnan Maru 2'' suddenly changed course and then steered deliberately into it. However, Watson later stated that "One only needs to watch the video to see that Bethune negligently stopped his ship in the path of the whaling vessel and it was cut in half". Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research
The is a Japanese entity that claims to be a research organization specializing in the "biological and social sciences related to whales".
In the past, it killing several hundred whales per year in the name of its 'research', the validity and ...
blames the collision on Sea Shepherd, who they say were attempting to entangle their rudder and propeller by repeatedly crossing their bow with lines. The Japanese Fisheries Agency said that the ''Shōnan Maru 2'' had employed a water cannon
A water cannon is a device that shoots a high-velocity stream of water. Typically, a water cannon can deliver a large volume of water, often over dozens of meters. They are used in firefighting, large vehicle washing, riot control, and mining ...
to deter the ''Ady Gil'', but the anti-whaling vessel undertook manoeuvres like suddenly reducing speed, resulting in the collision. Opinions in news media organisations vary similarly. Some blame the ''Ady Gil'' for powering up to intentionally propel itself into the whaler's path, some accuse the ''Shōnan Maru 2'' of intentionally ramming a stationary vessel – with both sides basing their views primarily on the released video footage. Others place the blame more evenly. An investigation into the collision by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority
Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is an Australian statutory authority responsible for the regulation and safety oversight of Australia's shipping fleet and management of Australia's international maritime obligations. The authority ...
(AMSA) was inconclusive and unable to assign blame for the collision. AMSA was unable to verify claims made by Sea Shepherd, while the Japanese government declined to participate with the investigation saying any information it had might be needed for an inquiry by its own authorities. New Zealand authorities found both parties were at fault for the collision. The inquiry by Maritime New Zealand
Maritime New Zealand (New Zealand Maritime Safety Authority) is a Crown entity and also a state maritime safety authority responsible for protecting the maritime transport sequence and marine environment within New Zealand and maintaining safety ...
found that the ''Shonan Maru No. 2'' should have kept clear of the ''Ady Gil'' under international collision regulations, and had ample opportunity to avoid hitting it. It also found that the ''Ady Gil'' failed to take avoiding action, and its helmsman did not see the Japanese ship bearing down until seconds before the impact.
The Institute discovered the wreck of the Ady Gil and released video footage reportedly showing it to be leaking diesel fuel into the Southern Ocean
The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is regarded as the second-small ...
. It also recovered a number of large-size arrows floating near the wreck, arguing that these proved Sea Shepherd was willing to endanger human life with their tactics. The crew of the Ady Gil claim the arrows were to be used for shooting the dead whales, poisoning their flesh and causing the whale to be of no use to the whalers and statements to this effect were made during filming for an episode of ''Whale Wars
''Whale Wars'' is a weekly American Reality television#Documentary-style, documentary-style reality television series that premiered on November 7, 2008 on the Animal Planet cable channel. The program followed Paul Watson, founder of the Sea Shep ...
''. The discovery of the arrows was later used by Sea Shepherd to justify the expulsion of Bethune from the Sea Shepherd organisation.
Having sustained severe damage, ''Ady Gil'' was towed towards the French Dumont d'Urville Station
The Dumont d'Urville Station (french: Base antarctique Dumont-d'Urville) is a French scientific station in Antarctica on Île des Pétrels, Geologie Archipelago, archipelago of Pointe-Géologie in Adélie Land. It is named after exploration, exp ...
in Antarctica.[news.com.au, 8 January 2010]
Ady Gil abandoned and leaking oil
/ref>[Herald Sun, 8 January 2010]
Govt can't guarantee legal action against Japanese whaling
/ref> While weather conditions had been reported as favourable for the salvage attempt, the process of towing the vessel was reported to have caused it to take on more water. Sea Shepherd claimed that all fuel and oil had been taken off-board the drifting vessel, at risk to the crew. However, Japanese sources later provided photographs allegedly showing the abandoned wreckage to be leaking diesel fuel into the Southern Ocean
The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is regarded as the second-small ...
.
Bethune posted an open letter to his Facebook page on 6 October 2010, in which he said that after colliding with the ''Shōnan Maru 2'', Watson directed him to deliberately sink the ''Ady Gil'' for PR purposes.
On 7 January 2013, Watson was sued in Los Angeles County by the owner of the boat for $5 million. Gil says his vessel was rammed by a Japanese whaling ship in 2010 and suffered damage to the nose but the damage was repairable. According to Gil, Watson saw the collision as an opportunity to spin the incident into a major publicity and money maker for his organization so instead of towing the boat to port for repairs, he secretly gave an order to sink the ship "under the cover of darkness" and blamed the Japanese. Gil claims Watson knew that blaming the whalers for the destruction of his ship would garner sympathy for his cause and spark outrage against the whalers inspiring more people to donate to his anti-whaling organization. Bethune also took Sea Shepherd to arbitration court for the balance owed to him in the amount of $500,000.
A complaint based on the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act was filed by Ady Gil and Vince Dundee against Sea Shepherd and Paul Watson on 6 August 2014 in the Superior Court of Los Angeles regarding the solicitation of donations for a replacement for the vessel.
In September 2015, an arbitrator ruled that Sea Shepherd intentionally and wrongfully scuttled the MV Ady Gil, intending to capitalize on the publicity the sinking would bring. Sea Shepherd fought to have the ruling and award kept from the public, but was ultimately unsuccessful. In January 2016, it accepted the arbitrator's ruling, which once finalized will see the arbitration award made public. Mr Gil and Earthrace Ltd were awarded US$500,000 in compensation plus 3.25% interest on that amount from 8 January 2010 to 15 September 2015, the date of the arbitrator's order.
Bethune's detention and arrest
Bethune boarded the ''Shōnan Maru 2'' on 15 February 2010, claiming to be conducting a citizen's arrest
A citizen's arrest is an arrest made by a private citizen – that is, a person who is not acting as a sworn law-enforcement official. In common law jurisdictions, the practice dates back to medieval England and the English common law, in which ...
of her captain for what he said was the attempted murder of him and his crew, and to present a $3 million demand for his lost boat. He was detained by the ship's crew and taken to Japan, where he was arrested by the Japanese Coast Guard
The is the coast guard of Japan.
The Japan Coast Guard consists of about 13,700 personnel and is responsible for the protection of the coastline of Japan under the oversight of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. ...
on 12 March on charges of trespassing. On 2 April 2010, Bethune was indict
An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that of an ...
ed on five charges; trespassing, assault, illegal possession of a knife, destruction of property and obstruction of business. He was held without bond
Bond or bonds may refer to:
Common meanings
* Bond (finance), a type of debt security
* Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States
* Chemical bond, the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules to form chemica ...
in a maximum security prison for five months. In July 2010 Bethune was sentenced to two years in prison, but received a five-year suspension of sentence and was deported back to New Zealand. Bethune was also seemingly expelled from Sea Shepherd in response to bringing a set of bow and arrows on board with intent of spoiling whale meat
Whale meat, broadly speaking, may include all cetaceans (whales, dolphins, porpoises) and all parts of the animal: muscle (meat), organs (offal), skin (muktuk), and fat (blubber). There is relatively little demand for whale meat, compared to ...
for commercial use; however, Watson later said this was a legal strategy on the part of Sea Shepherd during Bethune's trial.
Replacement
The financial loss of the ''Ady Gil'' was estimated at about $1.5 million. A donor had reportedly offered $1 million towards the construction of the ''Ady Gil 2''. Sea Shepherd instead acquired the ''Ocean 7 Adventurer'' (which is the vessel that held the race record until the Ady Gil beat it) to replace the ''Ady Gil'' for its 2011 campaign against Japanese whaling in the Antarctic and renamed it MV ''Gojira'' (Godzilla), then later, .
See also
* List of circumnavigations
This is a list of circumnavigations of Earth. Sections are ordered by ascending date of completion.
Global
Nautical
16th century
* The 18 survivors, led by Juan Sebastián Elcano, of Ferdinand Magellan's Magellan's circumnavigation, Spanish ...
References
External links
* (''Earthrace'' record-attempt / vessel website)
Interview with Skipper Pete Bethune
(from the 'omegataupodcast.net' website, taken before involvement with Sea Shepherd)
;Videos of collision
Video of the crash taken from the ''Shōnan Maru 2''
Video of the crash taken from the ''Bob Barker''
Video of the crash taken from the ''Ady Gil''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ady Gil
Ships built in New Zealand
Biodiesel
Motorboats
Ships of New Zealand
Experimental ships
2006 ships
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ships
Maritime incidents in 2010
Shipwrecks in the Southern Ocean
Trimarans
Ships sunk in collisions
2010 in Antarctica