Discover the Yushinmaru: Ratings & Maritime News

On Friday, Japanese vessels embarked on a controversial whaling expedition in the Antarctic Ocean, a venture that Tokyo refers to as 'research whaling.' This marks Japan's intent to hunt 333 Antarctic minke whales, as declared by the Fisheries Agency. This expedition is significant as it is the second to take place in the Antarctic waters following a 2014 ruling by the International Court of Justice that deemed such practices against international law. In a response to the court's decision, Japan proposed a revised whaling plan to the International Whaling Commission, aiming to reduce minke whale catches by two-thirds. During the fiscal year of 2014 through March 2015, Japan suspended its whaling activities, conducting only visual surveys. However, following the implementation of the new plan, whaling resumed the following year. Environmental organization Sea Shepherd Australia has announced its intentions to obstruct Japan's whaling activities, prompting the Fisheries Agency to monitor the situation closely with its patrol vessels. The fleet now includes two whaling ships—the 724-ton Yushin Maru and the 747-ton Yushin Maru No. 2—that set sail from Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, early Friday morning. They will soon unite with two additional whaling vessels and the 8,145-ton mother ship Nisshin Maru, comprising a total crew of 185 members.

A significant legal decision has unfolded in Australia, where a Japanese whaling company, Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha, has been fined AUS-$1 million for flouting a court order prohibiting its whale hunting operations within the Australian whale sanctuary located in the Southern Ocean. This fine comes as part of a contempt case in the Australian federal court, which determined that the firm continued its hunting activities for multiple seasons, directly violating a 2008 injunction issued to halt such illegal practices. The injunction was originally enforced following a request from Humane Society International (HSI). Key evidence leading to this ruling was provided by Captain Peter Hammarstedt from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society through an affidavit. This ruling underscores Australia's commitment to protecting marine life against illegal whaling activities. For further details, visit https://gcaptain.com/japanese-whalers-fined-1-million-in-australia/

In a groundbreaking turn of events, two Japanese whaling vessels have returned to the port of Shimonoseki without any catches, marking the first instance of such an occurrence in nearly three decades. Local news outlets report that the Antarctic expedition, which included the 724-ton Yushinmaru and the 747-ton Daini (No 2) Yushinmaru, concluded without fulfilling Japan's annual tradition of 'scientific' whale hunting. This unprecedented scenario follows a ruling from a United Nations court that mandated an end to Japan’s contentious whale hunt. Indeed, it's been since 1987—when Japan commenced its scientific whale hunts in the Southern Ocean—that whaling ships have come back empty-handed, according to the Asahi Shimbun. During this Antarctic journey, researchers shifted their focus to observing marine mammals rather than hunting them, taking only skin samples from whales rather than landing any catches. Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries minister Yoshimasa Hayashi expressed hopes that the scientific data collected would pave the way for a future resumption of commercial whaling, sharing this ambition with reporters in Shimonoseki as noted by AFP.