Ship sinking final act of defiance
Farley Mowat goes down in N.S.
Mere years after it prowled the seven seas defending whales and seals, the Sea Shepherd’s former flagship has now become an oil-leaking hulk threatening the Nova Scotia coast.
The R/V Farley Mowat, named after the late Canadian novelist and Sea Shepherd contributor, sank in the Shelburne, N.S., harbour Wednesday night, spilling about 40 litres of oil into the surrounding waters.
“We have 600 feet of containment booms anchored off around the vessel, we’re trying to contain as much of the product that’s escaping from the vessel as possible,” said Keith Laidlaw of the Canadian Coast Guard.
The vessel, which was the flagship of the controversial Sea Shepherd Conservation Society for six years, has been languishing in Maritime ports since it was seized by a Royal Canadian Mounted Police tactical team in 2008.
The Farley Mowat had been in the area to observe the Atlantic seal hunt when, according to Canadian authorities, it repeatedly came dangerously close to sealing vessels, and struck a Coast Guard icebreaker when it arrived to intervene.
The society, however, has claimed that the ship stayed within international waters and called the Canadian seizure an “act of piracy.”
The ship was involved in antiwhaling and anti-poaching protests from Antarctica to Costa Rica.
The current owner, scrap dealer Tracy Dodds, now owes about $14,000 in docking fees.
“At the time of its sinking, the Farley Mowat was under arrest at the Shelburne Marine Terminal and the port was engaged in legal negotiations with the owner,” said Dylan Heide, the town’s chief administrative officer.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, for the most part, has expressed delight its former flagship has become an administrative headache for marine and municipal authorities.
“Farley would be smiling to know that the ship that bears his name continues to be an annoying irritation for Canadian authorities,” wrote Sea Shepherd’s founder, Paul Watson, in a 2014 social media post.