Following a Greenpeace action which began early this morning, Rotterdam port police have promised that a whale meat shipment en route to Japan from Iceland will remain at the port. The owners of the container ship NYK ORION have decided to off load the Fin whale meat rather than become complicit in the trade in an endangered species.
"Today Greenpeace was able just in time to prevent this shipment of whale meat from continuing, such action should no longer be necessary," said Pavel Klinckhamers, Greenpeace oceans campaigner. "The Dutch authorities must ensure that whale meat never again comes to the Rotterdam harbour. They must work to end the whale meat trade."
Early this morning, fifteen Greenpeace activists chained themselves to the mooring ropes of the NYK ORION to prevent the container ship from leaving. Greenpeace’s actions against the shipment combined with the support of workers at the Rotterdam port resulted in the containers being removed from the vessel. Seven Greenpeace activists were arrested as a result of today’s protest and are expected to be released shortly.
Two Greenpeace activists are currently on trial in Japan for acting to expose major corruption in the Japanese government funded whaling program. Greenpeace believes that Japan should not be rewarded for decades of reprehensible behaviour at the IWC and in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. Instead, the Commission should demand that the Japanese government reopen the official investigation into the Greenpeace allegations.
