ANTARTICA:Ice threatens to trap a damaged Japanese whaling ship stranded off Antarctica, raising fears of an environmental disaster close to a major penguin colony, say anti-whaling activists.
The Nisshin Maru, an 8,000-tonne Japanese whaling fleet flagship, has been disabled since a fire last Thursday that killed a crewman, sparking concern that oil or chemicals could spill into one of the world's last pristine seas.
The Japanese have rejected offers from environment watchdog Greenpeace to tow the stricken vessel to port in favour of attempting repairs. Activists monitoring fast-moving ice floes on behalf of the ship have warned that time is running out.
"There is a big finger of ice to the east of us, which is moving up and across, and there is a concern that if the wind changes and pushes that towards us, then we'll all get pinned in along the continent," Greenpeace spokeswoman Sarah Holden said by satellite phone from the area.
Greenpeace has become a temporary ally of the Japanese amid concerns that more than 1,000 tonnes of oil on board the ship could be blown by heavy Antarctic seas on to the world's largest Adelie penguin breeding ground, 177km (110 miles) away.
Scout helicopters from the Greenpeace vessel Esperanza said ice packs were closing in by 5km (3 miles) a day, as the Nisshin Maru drifted 48km (30 miles) north overnight.
"The only thing we can predict is that the ice will continue to increase and expand, because we're coming to winter," said Ms Holden.
Crew on the Nisshin Maru had restarted one generator on the ship to restore power and heating, but the engines were still dead and the ship lay lashed between two other whaling vessels, Maritime New Zealand spokesman Steve Corbett said.
"Our concern and our wish is that they move north as quickly as possible," he said.
As the Japanese continued their efforts to move the ship, a Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ship involved in a collision with the whaling fleet was expected in Melbourne, where the anti-whaling crew face questions from Australian police.
Sea Shepherd was asking the public to greet the "whale-saving crew" as the Robert Hunter docked. It said the ship, along with its other vessel the Farley Mowat, had saved two pods of whales from a planned research cull of 954 by the Japanese.
Japan has denied news reports and accusations by New Zealand's government that there is a threat of pollution from the Nisshin Maru, calling them malevolent.
- (Reuters)