A crew-member from the Sea Shepherd has once again boarded a Japanese whale-hunting vessel. Pete Bethune clambered aboard to deliver a $3 million bill for his sunken ship and attempted a citizen’s arrest of the head of the Japanese security vessel. In the early hours of the morning, the skipper of the sunken “Ady Gil” ship, climbed aboard a Japanese security ship. He boarded the ship by jumping from a moving Jet Ski onto the Japanese ship, which was traveling at 14 knots. This is possibly one of the most bad-ass things that has recently happened in the animal rights movement.

In October 2009, Sea Shepherd unveiled their new ship, Ady Gil–named in honor of its benefactor. The ship was “a fast, futuristic looking trimaran that recently set the world record for global circumnavigation,” but on January 8, 2010 the whalers rammed and sank the Ady Gil. The anti-whaling activist maintain that the Japanese intentionally rammed the Ady Gil and are calling for compensation and criminal charges. In any case, this confrontation marked a new level of conflict between whale-hunters and the animal activists from Sea Shepherd.

How did Captain Bethune manage to sneak aboard a moving ship without being noticed? Well, he didn’t accomplish this feat on his first try. He missed his first jump and was swept away by the frigid waters, but that didn’t stop him. The Jet-Ski driver picked him up and they went right back at it. On the second try, Bethune made it onto the Japanese ship and climbed aboard, avoiding the netting, spikes, and other obstacles.

From the Sea Shepherd website:

“Captain Bethune… slipped and fell into the sea and was twirled about in the wake of the whaling ship. The jet ski picked him up for a 2nd attempt. This time he succeeded and clamored onboard the whaling ship without being noticed. Captain Bethune then calmly walked across the deck up the stairs to the next deck and then up the ladder to the monkey deck above the bridge. He then sat there for an hour and a half undetected as he waited for sunrise so that the Steve Irwin could launch it’s helicopter to document his service of notice to the Captain of the Shonan Maru #2. “When the Sea Shepherd helicopter arrived, Captain Bethune calmly knocked on the bridge wing door. A crewmember opened the door and actually tried to shoo him away. When Captain Bethune did not move, the crewmember walked around him and looked over the side to see if there was a boat. Not seeing one, he looked bewildered as he walked past Captain Bethune, opened the door, re-entered the bridge and walked inside and closed the door. Captain Bethune then opened the door and entered the wheelhouse.”

A videographer from Animal Planet filmed Bethune delivering his message. Unfortunately, there is only footage of Bethune delivering the message to the bridge:

Bethune and Sea Shepherd are demanding that the skipper of the Japanese security boat submit himself to arrest and the Japanese commit to covering the cost of the destroyed ship. Bethune told the skipper, ”I will only leave the Shonan Maru when you transfer me to the Steve Irwin, or when we arrive on land, be it in New Zealand or Australia.” The main Sea Shepherd ship remains in pursuit of the Japanese harpooning and factory ships.

photo cred: Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, an anti-whaling group, is pushing the envelope in their campaign to end illegal whale hunting.