The cargo vessel Winter Bay arrived in harbour in Osaka in Japan on Sunday carrying 1,800 tons of fin whale meat from Iceland the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service reports. The meat, which is from last year’s whaling season in Iceland, corresponds to roughly 40% of the annual whale meat consumption in Japan.
Related: Kristján Loftsson‘s whaling generates a 7.5 million USD in losses
A long twisted voyage
The ship left harbour in Tromsö in Norway early August, after having been in harbour in Iceland since the beginning of summer. Initially the ship was supposed to sail with its cargo around the Cape of Good Hope, the same route a second vessel carrying Icelandic whale meat took in 2014. That ship ran into trouble docking along the route due to protest by environmentalists.
After engine trouble delayed the departure of Winter Bay Kristján Loftsson, the CEO and owner of Whaling firm Hvalur hf decided the ship would take the North-Eastern Passage through the Arctic. Kristján has always denied he made the decision to avoid protests by environmentalists.
Japanese media, however, report that the reason the ship sailed through the arctic, rather than the more usual southern routes, was that it wanted to avoid protesters and environmentalists.
Attempts to stop the shipment failed
The Canadian actress Pamela Anderson tried to persuade Russian authorities to deny the ship passage through the arctic, and more than one million people signed an online petition organized by avaaz.org, asking the government of St Kitts and Nevis, where the cargo vessel Winter Bay is registered, to strip it of its flag, thus stopping the shipment.
Read more: Whaler baffled by the internet, dismisses an on-line petition with million signatures
It remains to be seen whether Kristján Loftsson will run into more trouble when he sends this year’s whale catch to Japanese markets next year.
The cargo vessel Winter Bay arrived in harbour in Osaka in Japan on Sunday carrying 1,800 tons of fin whale meat from Iceland the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service reports. The meat, which is from last year’s whaling season in Iceland, corresponds to roughly 40% of the annual whale meat consumption in Japan.
Related: Kristján Loftsson‘s whaling generates a 7.5 million USD in losses
A long twisted voyage
The ship left harbour in Tromsö in Norway early August, after having been in harbour in Iceland since the beginning of summer. Initially the ship was supposed to sail with its cargo around the Cape of Good Hope, the same route a second vessel carrying Icelandic whale meat took in 2014. That ship ran into trouble docking along the route due to protest by environmentalists.
After engine trouble delayed the departure of Winter Bay Kristján Loftsson, the CEO and owner of Whaling firm Hvalur hf decided the ship would take the North-Eastern Passage through the Arctic. Kristján has always denied he made the decision to avoid protests by environmentalists.
Japanese media, however, report that the reason the ship sailed through the arctic, rather than the more usual southern routes, was that it wanted to avoid protesters and environmentalists.
Attempts to stop the shipment failed
The Canadian actress Pamela Anderson tried to persuade Russian authorities to deny the ship passage through the arctic, and more than one million people signed an online petition organized by avaaz.org, asking the government of St Kitts and Nevis, where the cargo vessel Winter Bay is registered, to strip it of its flag, thus stopping the shipment.
Read more: Whaler baffled by the internet, dismisses an on-line petition with million signatures
It remains to be seen whether Kristján Loftsson will run into more trouble when he sends this year’s whale catch to Japanese markets next year.
