Fresh clash between Sea Shepherd and tuna vessels

Captain Paul Watson, the Sea Shepherd president, reported that at 9am today, the Steve Irwin moved into Libyan waters to inspect the remaining cage being towed by the Italian vessel Cesare Rustico. Earlier on Thursday, the Sea Shepherd divers had cut the cage open to free some 800 tuna.

With the Sea Shepherd helicopter overhead, the inflatable Delta boat and dive team from the Steve Irwin approached the cage. “The Cesare Rustico dropped the tow line and turned to defend the cage. At the same time the fishing vessels the Tagreft and the Rabbah 1060, along with the trawler Misurate 96, moved in quickly to defend their illegal catch of Bluefin. Immediately and without warning, the Steve Irwin was attacked with a barrage of flares aimed at the wheelhouse and the crew on deck. “

Watson said that the Cesare Rustico issued a May Day distress signal “saying they were under attack by the Steve Irwin even though the ourcrew had merely approached the cage to inspect the catch.  Most worrying was the fact that the Sea Shepherd helicopter piloted by Chris Aultman was painted by the Libyan airborne radar system.”

Watson said the Steve Irwin retreated to a safe distance away from the waters claimed by Libya. He said the captain of the Cesare Rustico radioed the Tagreft and Rabbah 1060 to “do whatever you can to damage them so they will never return.”

The Sea Shepherd vessel Steve Irwin is now heading north into international waters.