On June 15, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's flagship, Farley Mowat, managed to escape from Cape Town's harbour. The ship had been detained when it returned from Antarctic waters, where it had pursued the Japanese whaling fleet. The Sea Shepherds have described the detention as politically motivated. "Japan has influence in Cape Town", said Paul Watson, the ship's captain. "We could not allow them to detain us as the Japanese prepare their harpoons for another season of relentless cruel slaughter. We can't waste any further time dealing with bought and paid for bureaucrats — we have whales to save."
From Green Left Weekly, June 21 2006.
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