is a vessel of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society fleet, the ship was previously named after American television producer and writer

Sam Simon Samuel Michael Simon (June 6, 1955 – March 8, 2015) was an American director, producer, writer, animal rights activist and philanthropist, who co-developed the television series ''The Simpsons''. While at Stanford University, Simon w ...

, who donated the money to purchase the vessel. The ship's identity was kept secret, to be revealed when she met the Japanese whaling fleet in 2012, but was identified when her registration was discovered on 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 ...

's list of registered ships. ''Age of Union'' is the former Japanese weather survey ship ''Kaiko Maru No 8''. Sea Shepherd paid the

Government of Japan The Government of Japan consists of legislative, executive and judiciary branches and is based on popular sovereignty. The Government runs under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan, adopted in 1947. It is a unitary stat ...

AUD $2,000,000 for the vessel. She was renamed MV ''New Atlantis'' shortly before being moved to

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

. She was subsequently re-registered under the Australian flag as a pleasure craft called ''Sam Simon''.

Service

''Age of Union'' was built by Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co Ltd in Tokyo, Japan as ''Seifu Maru'' (清風丸, Seifū Maru – meaning ''cool breeze''), a marine meteorological and oceanographic observation ship. The purpose of ''Seifu Maru'' and her sister ships was to conduct observations of the pollution affecting the marine environment in the waters around Japan and the western North Pacific, covering greenhouse gases, ozone-depleting substances, heavy metals, and oils. The Japan Meteorological Agency operated five ships: ''Chofu Maru'' (長風丸, 1987), ''Kofu Maru'' (高風丸, 1988), ''Seifu Maru'' (清風丸, 1993), ''Ryofu Maru'' (凌風丸, 1995) and ''Keifu Maru'' (啓風丸, 2000). ''Seifu Maru'' was operated by the Maizuru Marine Observatory and worked in the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, i ...

. The Japanese ARGO Program (アルゴ計画) was completed and the un-needed vessel was sold to Offshore Operation Co. Ltd and was renamed ''Kaiko Maru No 8'' in 2010. Neptune Navy - MY Sam Simon-Hobart 2012

In September 2012, ''Kaiko Maru'' was purchased by New Atlantis Ventures LLC, based in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington (Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

USA (a

shell corporation A shell corporation is a company or corporation that exists only on paper and has no office and no employees, but may have a bank account or may hold passive investments or be the registered owner of assets, such as intellectual property, or s ...

of Sea Shepherd), and renamed ''New Atlantis'', registered under the flag of Tuvalu. In December 2012, ''New Atlantis'' was renamed ''Sam Simon''. $500,000 of upgrades for increased speed and range were undertaken in Brisbane, where she was docked and supplies were taken on board for the voyage to the whale sanctuary. The vessel was publicly unveiled in Hobart,

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

in December 2012. On February 20, 2013, the Japanese whaling ship ''

Nisshin Maru The is the primary vessel of the Japanese whaling fleet and is the world's only whaler factory ship. It was the research base ship for the Institute of Cetacean Research for 2002 to 2007. It has a tonnage of and is the largest member and flagshi ...

'' collided with ''Sam Simon'', and multiple times in a confrontation in the Southern Ocean, north of Australia's Casey Research Station in Antarctica. The MY Sam Simon currently operates in Europe and West Africa. In Europe, the Sam Simon crew are filming the activities of trawler type vessels in an attempt to draw attention to dolphin bycatch (dolphins unintentionally caught in the nets of the trawlers). In West Africa, the Sam Simon crew are partnering with several Governments to stop

illegal fishing Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) is an issue around the world. Fishing industry observers believe IUU occurs in most fisheries, and accounts for up to 30% of total catches in some important fisheries. Illegal fishing takes ...

happening within West African waters. As from 24 May 2021, the MY Sam Simon has been sighted in the Port of Gibraltar for a technical call. Sam Simon was renamed Age of Union in January 2022 after a $4.5 million donation by Dax Dasilva.

References

External links

Sea state of the Sea of Japan – Maizuru Marine Observatory (Japanese)

Sea Meteorological Observation Report – Maizuru Marine Observatory (Japanese)

Images of the ''Sam Simon''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Age of Union Ships built by IHI Corporation Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ships 1993 ships Maritime incidents in 2013 IHI Corporation