The Canadian actress Pamela Anderson has appealed to Russian president Vladimir Putin to deny the cargo vessel Winter Bay permission to sail the North-East passage. The vessel is carrying 1,700 tonnes of Icelandic fin whale meat, destined to Japan.
The owner of Hvalur hf, which has chartered the ship to transport its catch, Kristján Loftsson decided to have the ship take the North-East passage, rather than sail around the Cape of Good Hope. Shipping whale products from Iceland to Japan is difficult, as international trade in whale meat is banned, according to international agreements banning trafficking inthe products of endangered animals.
Growing international pressure
The ship is currently in port in Tromsö, Norway, waiting for the North-East passage through the Arctic to be opened up, which is not expected to happen until August or early September. Nearly a million people have signed a petition asking the island nation of St. Kitts and Nevis to withdraw its flag from the cargo vessel Winter Bay.
According to local news outlet visir.is this is not the first time Pamela Anderson has appealed to Vladimir Putin, asking him to take a stand for conservation. In 2010 she asked Putin to stop Russian imports of Canadian harp seal skins. Over 90% of Canadian seal skins were imported to Russia. In 2011 Russia stopped importing harp seal skins.
The Canadian actress Pamela Anderson has appealed to Russian president Vladimir Putin to deny the cargo vessel Winter Bay permission to sail the North-East passage. The vessel is carrying 1,700 tonnes of Icelandic fin whale meat, destined to Japan.
The owner of Hvalur hf, which has chartered the ship to transport its catch, Kristján Loftsson decided to have the ship take the North-East passage, rather than sail around the Cape of Good Hope. Shipping whale products from Iceland to Japan is difficult, as international trade in whale meat is banned, according to international agreements banning trafficking inthe products of endangered animals.
Growing international pressure
The ship is currently in port in Tromsö, Norway, waiting for the North-East passage through the Arctic to be opened up, which is not expected to happen until August or early September. Nearly a million people have signed a petition asking the island nation of St. Kitts and Nevis to withdraw its flag from the cargo vessel Winter Bay.
According to local news outlet visir.is this is not the first time Pamela Anderson has appealed to Vladimir Putin, asking him to take a stand for conservation. In 2010 she asked Putin to stop Russian imports of Canadian harp seal skins. Over 90% of Canadian seal skins were imported to Russia. In 2011 Russia stopped importing harp seal skins.
