Old activist ship sinks, spilling oil
Mere years after it prowled the seven seas defending whales and seals, the Sea Shepherd’s former flagship has now become an oilleaking 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 the ship stayed within international waters and called the seizure an “act of piracy.”
First launched in 1958 as the Norwegian research vessel Johan Hjort, the ship was used to ferry supplies to oil rigs before the Sea Shepherd group bought it in 1996.
Going by the names Sea Shepherd III, Ocean Warrior and finally Farley Mowat, the ship was involved in anti-whaling and anti-poaching protests from Antarctica to Costa Rica.
Originally moored in Sydney, N.S., after the seizure, the Farley Mowat was moved to Lunenburg in 2010 as part of a failed plan to outfit it as an expedition vessel.
The ship was soon back on the market to cover unpaid docking fees. Last September, Shelburne found itself the unwilling custodian of the ship when it was towed and docked at the town wharf during the night.
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.
“Our intention in the negotiations has been the removal of the vessel from the terminal.”
On Friday, divers will be sent into the sunken hull to “find out how much pollutant is on board,” Laidlaw said.