A vessel containing 1,800 tons of whale meat destined for Japan has left harbour, heading to Norway where it will wait until July, when the Northeast-passage will be clear for travel. The ship, called Winter Bay, which sails under the flag of Saint Kitts and Newis, has been chartered by the Icelandic whaling company Hvalur hf. to transport fin whale meat to Japan.
The decision to take the Northeast-passage through the Arctic, rather than the previously planned route around the Cape of Good Hope, was made after the voyage had been postponed for more than a month, due to an engine failure aboard the ship, local newspaper Morgunblaðið reports.
Read more: New poll shows less public support for whaling in Iceland
The Northeast passage opens up to ships like Winter Bay in early July, and under favourable conditions the voyage will take around a month. Taking the shipment around the Cape of Good Hope would take 67 to 70 days. However, uncertain weather conditions and unfavourable winds mean the shipment might not arrive in Japan until August or early September.
Controversial cargo
This is not the first whale meat shipment by Hvalur hf. to Japan. Last year the company sent 2,000 tons of whale meat to Osaka, Japan. Earlier attempts by the company to ship whale meat through European and Canadian harbours had been frustrated, as international trade in whale products is banned, under the CITIES agreement on trade in endangered species.
Read more: On a secret mission transporting whale meat from Iceland to Japan … via South Africa
The 2014 shipment of whale meat was therefore taken around the Cape of Good Hope, rather than through the Mediterranean and Suez Canal. This, much longer, route between Europe and E. Asia is usually only taken when shipping controversial cargoes. Still, the vessel Hvalur hf. had chartered had trouble getting permission to dock along the way.
A vessel containing 1,800 tons of whale meat destined for Japan has left harbour, heading to Norway where it will wait until July, when the Northeast-passage will be clear for travel. The ship, called Winter Bay, which sails under the flag of Saint Kitts and Newis, has been chartered by the Icelandic whaling company Hvalur hf. to transport fin whale meat to Japan.
The decision to take the Northeast-passage through the Arctic, rather than the previously planned route around the Cape of Good Hope, was made after the voyage had been postponed for more than a month, due to an engine failure aboard the ship, local newspaper Morgunblaðið reports.
Read more: New poll shows less public support for whaling in Iceland
The Northeast passage opens up to ships like Winter Bay in early July, and under favourable conditions the voyage will take around a month. Taking the shipment around the Cape of Good Hope would take 67 to 70 days. However, uncertain weather conditions and unfavourable winds mean the shipment might not arrive in Japan until August or early September.
Controversial cargo
This is not the first whale meat shipment by Hvalur hf. to Japan. Last year the company sent 2,000 tons of whale meat to Osaka, Japan. Earlier attempts by the company to ship whale meat through European and Canadian harbours had been frustrated, as international trade in whale products is banned, under the CITIES agreement on trade in endangered species.
Read more: On a secret mission transporting whale meat from Iceland to Japan … via South Africa
The 2014 shipment of whale meat was therefore taken around the Cape of Good Hope, rather than through the Mediterranean and Suez Canal. This, much longer, route between Europe and E. Asia is usually only taken when shipping controversial cargoes. Still, the vessel Hvalur hf. had chartered had trouble getting permission to dock along the way.
