Shadowy Organization Attempts To Sink Norwegian Whaling Boat

A group called Agenda 21 scuttled this Norwegian whaling boat (Foto: STOCKSHOTS.NO)

Depending on your perspective, Agenda 21 are either eco-terrorists or righteous eco-warriors. But either way, the group is claiming responsibility for scuttling the Norwegian whale-hunting vessel Skarbakk on April 23. It appears that members of the group entered the boat at Henningsvaer in the Norwegian Lofoten Islands and flooded the engine room. Firefighters arrived in time to save the boat from sinking, but not before the ship’s machinery and electrical systems were ruined.

There seems to be little real English-language reporting of the incident (that I can find). Perhaps more though will be available in the coming days. As of right now, some of the better English-language info I can find comes, not surprisingly, from Sea Shepherd, which posted a brief blog entry here on April 27 (you have to scroll through entries until you get to this particular post).

There are a number of interesting items, however, in the Sea Shepherd blog post:

Sea Shepherd seems to know exactly how the sabotage was carried out. “With a monkey wrench they disassembled the salt-water intake valve (used for cooling the main engine). They then opened the valve and flooded the engine room.”

They also explain the strategy behind the attack. “This scuttling represents losses for the ship’s Norwegian underwriters and for Japanese investors who were partners with the owner of the Skarbakk…This brings to 6 the number of illegal whaling boats sabotaged in Norway. These regular attacks have kept insurance premiums at exceptionally high rates. All whaling vessels in Norway have to pay war insurance premiums to operate their whaling vessels.”

And…they don’t really go out of their way to disassociate themselves from this “Agenda 21″ group:

Agenda 21 is a covert group that takes its name from the 1992 United Nations Conference on the Environment. Captain Paul Watson said at the conference that if Norway did not comply with international conservation law that Sea Shepherd would sink their ships. Captain Watson supervised the sinking of the Nybraena in 1992 and the Senet in 1994 [the first two ships that were scuttled]. After that the covert and anonymous organization Agenda 21 based in Norway took over the responsibility of enforcing international law against illegal Norwegian whaling operations.

“We don’t know who they are, and we have no forewarning of their plans,” said Captain Paul Watson. “But we do applaud their efforts, these laws must be enforced and Norwegian whalers are in blatant violation of the worldwide ban on commercial whaling. We are happy that Agenda 21 took over this task back in 1996 with the scuttling of the Elin-Toril [the third]. If I knew who they were, I’d give them a medal. It’s always better when these things are taken care of by citizens in their own country and the Norwegians who are battling the whalers are like the resistance fighters who once took on the Nazi’s in Norway – brave men and women trying to defend lives from war criminals. In today’s whale wars, those who slaughter the whales are criminals and no different than elephant poachers in Africa. Except in Africa they shoot the poachers

If you can read or understand Norwegian, there’s some text and video about the incident here.

Here’s the full text of the note Agenda 21 left behind:

“APRIL 24, 2009
HENNINGSVAER, NORWAY – WHALING SHIP SUNK

ON THE EVENING OF THE 23RD OF APRIL WE SNUCK ONTO A NORWEGIAN WHALING SHIP MAKING REPAIRS IN THE LOFOTEN ISLANDS IN
PREPARATION FOR THE 2009 WHALING SEASON. TO DELAY THE KILLING SEASON AND TO PROTEST THE CONTINUED ILLEGAL EXPORT OF WHALE MEAT TO JAPAN WE DISASSEMBLED A VALVE AND FLOODED THE ENGINE ROOM. UNFORTUNATELY LOCAL FIREFIGHTERS WERE ABLE TO RESPOND JUST MOMENTS BEFORE THE SHIP SETTLED ON THE BOTTOM BUT NOT BEFORE THE SHIP HAD ALREADY BEEN COMPLETELY FILLED WITH SEA WATER AND THE DAMAGE DONE. FOR BOTH FISHERIES INVESTORS IN TOKYO AND INSURANCE UNDERWRITERS IN OSLO INVESTING IN THE NORWEGIAN WHALING INDUSTRY CAN ONLY LEAD TO SUNKEN PROFITS. AS A DIRECT RESULT OF A GROWING INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN ENDANGERED SPECIES WE CAME TO HENNINGSVAER. WE SAW THE SKARBAKK.

WE SANK THE BASTARD. -AGENDA 21″