Protest ship renamed to honour Croc Hunter Steve Irwin

December 05, 2007 12:00am
STEVE Irwin is to sail the high seas again, with an anti-whaling "battle" ship rebadged in his honour.

Terri Irwin will today reveal that the Robert Hunter has been renamed after her famous husband before the ship leaves for the Antarctic and another clash with Japanese whalers.

The ship is berthed at Victoria Dock, having just returned from Launceston where it underwent repairs after an incident in the Antarctic this year.

It is owned by controversial conservation group Sea Shepherd, one of Irwin's favourite conservations bodies.

Irwin spoke out strongly about whaling, calling for an end to the practice on his Crocodile Hunter website.

"They're killing our whales. Whaling in this (Great Southern) Ocean has to stop. It is a barbaric and ruthless slaughter of our kindred spirits," he wrote. "I've cried when I've seen it."

The newly badged ship will be pursuing Japanese whalers conducting so-called scientific whaling in the Southern Ocean.

Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research JAPRA II whaling program aims to take 935 minkes, 50 humpbacks and 50 endangered fin whales this whaling season.

In February this year the 1000-tonne Robert Hunter was involved in a collision with the Japanese whale spotter the Kaiko Maru, which was then hemmed in against sea ice. Each party blamed the other for the collision that tore a 30cm hole in the Robert Hunter, named after the Greenpeace co-founder.