Coast guard inspects whaling vessel with arrested activist

TOKYO, March 13 Kyodo -
The Japan Coast Guard inspected a whaling ship Saturday at Yokohama port in the
presence of a New Zealand antiwhaling activist who is under arrest for trespass
after boarding the vessel in the Antarctic Ocean last month.
The coast guard wants to confirm how Pete Bethune, 44, of the Sea Shepherd
Conservation Society got on board the whaling fleet security vessel, the Shonan
Maru No. 2.
The coast guard arrested Bethune, captain of the Sea Shepherd vessel Ady Gil,
on Friday upon his arrival in Japan aboard the Shonan Maru No. 2. He was
detained on the vessel after boarding it.
Bethune approached the Shonan Maru No. 2 aboard a jet ski and climbed aboard
Feb. 15. He is also suspected of having injured some Japanese crew members by
throwing bottles of butyric acid in an incident at sea on Feb. 11.
After boarding the Shonan Maru No. 2, Bethune reportedly asked its captain to
pay compensation over the sinking of the Ady Gil in a collision with the
Japanese ship Jan. 6 in the Antarctic Ocean. Both parties blame each other for
the incident.
==Kyodo