Anti-whaling activists detained on Japanese ship
guardian.co.uk , Tuesday 15 January 2008 16.18 GMT A Greenpeace photo of the Japanese whaling vessel, Nisshin Maru, similar to the one on which activists are reportedly being held captive. Photograph: Jiri Rezac/EPA Two members of the radical anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd are reportedly being held against their will on a Japanese whaling ship in Antarctic waters. In a vessel called Steve Irwin, members of the group had been pursuing Japan's annual whaling hunt in the Antarctic for almost a month. After locating five Japanese whaling boats this morning, two of its activists – Australian Benjamin Potts and British man Giles Lane – boarded the Yushin Maru No 2 vessel. They handed the crew a letter advising them they were "illegally killing whales" and were then detained. "They were successful in delivering the message, but then they were not allowed to leave and return to our vessel," said Sea Shepherd s