Tuna farmers' lobby: Sea Shepherd behaving like Somali pirates

"Following the assault by the Steve Irwin the owners requested assistance and a number of vessels went to their aid. These vessels remained close to the Cesare Rustico because of the danger of a repeat attack. They were unfortunately proven right when this morning, the black shape of the Steve Irwin loomed on the horizon like a modern-day pirate, accompanied by a helicopter and a number of inflatable craft obviously intent on repeating the performance of a couple of days ago," the FMAP said.

The association said the Cesare Rustico sent out a mayday calling upon any available military vessel within the area to rush to its assistance and, in an attempt to prevent further damage, deployed its accompanying vessels around the cage in tow. Flares were sent up as a warning to the Steve Irwin, strong words were exchanged by radio.

"The scene was set for another bloody confrontation. Meanwhile it seems that the Steve Irwin realised that it was being followed on radar by Libyan security forces. Its crew concluded that it would be a good moment to abandon the attack and, in behaviour reminiscent of school bullies confronted by a teacher they abandoned the scene in a great hurry to avoid being caught up by patrol vessels. The Sea Shepherd was never attacked; nor would it have taken the threat posed by these small boats seriously. Rather its attack on the Cesare Rustico was frustrated by the imagined presence of Libyan security forces."

The FMAP said the Steve Irwin was "bent on causing yet more damage". It said the crew on the Cesare Rustico and its accompanying vessels had no option but to turn round and defend their cargo. "They did so responsibly by radioing immediately for assistance. They did not seek confrontation but merely tried to avoid a danger which had been imposed on them by the Steve Irwin. Had the Steve Irwin been under attack it would have radioed for assistance. Not only did it not radio for assistance; on the contrary it fled the scene when it thought that security forces were arriving, seeking the sanctuary of international waters were it crew imagine that they can continue their illegal cruise with impunity. This is not the behaviour of an innocent person who is attacked. It is on the contrary the behaviour of a thief who flies when the guards are roused. It is the behaviour of Somali pirates when the navy rushes in!"

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.