The Winter Bay is on the move again! Whale meat vessel sets off for Japan - WDC, Whale and Dolphin Conservation
▻http://uk.whales.org/blog/2015/08/winter-bay-is-on-move-again-whale-meat-vessel-sets-off-for-japan
Winter Bay, the second-rate vessel chartered by Icelandic whaler, Kristjan Loftsson, to move an estimated 1,700 tonnes of fin whale meat to Japan, is on the move again! The vessel has been moored in Tromso since June 11th.
Winter Bay | Icelandmag
▻http://icelandmag.visir.is/tags/winter-bay
The Canadian Actress Pamela Anderson still hopes to persuade Russian authorities to stop the shipment of Icelandic whale meat to Japan via the north-eastern passage through the Arctic. The cargo vessel Winter Bay, registered in St Kitts and Nevis, recently left harbour in Tromsö Norway with 1,800 tons of whale products, destined for Japan.
In a letter sent to Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, this July Pamela urged him to stop the shipment:
“I would love to have the opportunity to meet and to discuss how, on behalf of my Foundation, I can forge a constructive relationship with the Russian government over issues related to wildlife, animals and the environment.
I do have a voice in the international community and I would like to use my voice, as humble as it is, to help make this world a better place for all living things.”
Yesterday Pamela Anderson announced that the Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Environment had agreed to meet her at the East Russia Economic Forum in Vladivostok next month.
In a letter to the Russian Ambassador to the US, which was published on the website of the Pamela Anderson Foundation, Pamela expresses her gratitude that the representative of the Russian government will meet with her to discuss the shipment of whale meat by Hvalur hf. Furthermore she expresses her hope that this meeting might lead to “Russia looking into banning such transits of protected species in the future”.
Et s’il passe par la #Route_du_Nord, c’est pour des raisons écologiques et pas du tout pour éviter les problèmes avec les écologistes lors des escales par la route du sud…
Icelandic whale meat shipment heading to Japan worth 15 million USD | Icelandmag
▻http://icelandmag.visir.is/article/icelandic-whale-meat-shipment-heading-japan-worth-15-million-usd
The cargo vessel Winter bay, which is carrying Icelandic whale products to Japan, has left port in Tromsö Norway to sail the North-East passage through the Arctic. The ship is carrying meat and blubber from fin whales caught by ships operating from the Hvalfjörður fjord whaling station. These whales are caught in Faxaflói bay, outside the whale sanctuary inside the bay, where whale watching firms operating out of Reykjavík take their tours.
In an interview with a Norwegian newspaper Fiskeribladet Fiskaren Kristján Loftsson, the CEO and owner of whaling firm #Hvalur, which owns the whale products being shipped to Japan, revealed that the cargo is worth two billion Icelandic Krona (15 million USD/14 million EUR).
Kristján also argued the ship was taking the North-East passage because it was shorter than the route around the Cape of Good Hope. Last year Hvalur sent a shipment of whale products around the Cape of Good Hope which ran into considerable problems as the ship was refused permits to dock along the way, due to its controversial cargo. The North-East passage is 14,800 km (9,200 miles) shorter than the alternative route.
As in every other interview in which Kristján Loftosson appears, he used the opportunity to blast environmentalists and conservationists, ridiculing those who wish to conserve the whales.
“They should rather congratulate us for exploiting the fin whale population in a responsible manner and for transporting this cargo over this long distance to Japan in a exceptionally environmental manner.”
Robin des Bois - Communiqué
▻http://www.robindesbois.org/communiques/animal/2015/viande-de-baleine-transite-passage-nord-est.html
Grande première en Arctique : la viande de baleine transite par le passage du Nord-Est
Le Winter Bay appartenant à un armateur européen vient de quitter le port de Tromsø en Norvège. Il est maintenant en mer de Barents. Il transporte environ 1800 tonnes de viande de baleine d’origine islandaise. Le Winter Bay est attendu à Osaka au Japon le 28 août. L’option arctique, 14.500 km, évite au Winter Bay les complications diplomatiques, les protestations d’ONG environnementales et les habituelles escales en Afrique de l’Ouest et en Afrique du Sud.
Le passage du Nord-Est est entièrement libre de glace entre la mi août et la fin septembre. Le passage du Nord-Est raccourcit de moitié la trajectoire par le cap de Bonne-Espérance. La route maritime du Nord est entièrement contrôlée par l’administration et l’armée russe.
La Russie est malheureusement complice du trafic de viande de baleine entre l’Islande et le Japon. L’Union Européenne est aussi complice puisque le Winter Bay appartient depuis quelques semaines à un armateur letton. La Directive européenne sur la conservation des habitats naturels ainsi que de la faune et de la flore sauvages stipule que les Etats-membres doivent interdire le transport de spécimens de toutes les espèces de cétacés vivants ou morts ou de toutes parties ou produits dérivés.
Winter Bay, ex-Nordvaer, ex-Victoriahamn. OMI 8601680. Transporteur frigorifique de marchandises sur palette. Longueur 79,90 m. Pavillon Saint-Kitts-et-Nevis. Société de classification Det Norske Veritas. Construit en 1986 à Rissa (Norvège) par Fosen MV. Vendu en mai 2014 par son armateur norvégien Nor Lines Rederi AS à DalriadaTortola basé aux Iles Vierges Britanniques et prête-nom du letton Aquaship Ltd. Dans la foulée il abandonne le pavillon des Iles Féroé pour celui de Saint-Kitts-et-Nevis.
Ah, voilà le communiqué de #Robin_des_Bois