A ship operated by the Captain Paul Watson Foundation collided with a Norwegian-flagged krill trawler, the Antarctic Sea, off Antarctica’s coast in an incident described by the trawler’s owner as a “deliberate attack” that endangered its crew and threatened potential environmental damage.
The collision occurred on Tuesday and was captured in a two-minute video provided to The Associated Press by Aker QRILL Co., which owns the fishing vessel. The video shows the activist ship, the M/V Bandero, approaching and striking the port side of the Antarctic Sea at a slight angle near the vessel’s stern.
Aker QRILL, the world’s largest krill harvester responsible for more than half of the global catch, said the Bandero came within centimeters of hitting its diesel tank and put the surrounding marine habitat at risk. The company stressed that the waters are home to multiple whale species, seals, and seabirds reliant on the krill population. Aker’s CEO Webjørn Barstad confirmed the crew was unharmed but shaken and announced plans to seek legal action.
“Only luck avoided potential environmental damage,” Barstad said, adding that rupturing the steel plates could have caused a diesel spill in the ecologically sensitive Southern Ocean.
The Captain Paul Watson Foundation described the event as an “accidental collision” in its statement to Reuters but also labeled its operation as “aggressive nonviolence.” The foundation said the crew, led by French activist Lamya Essemlali, successfully disrupted all krill fishing around both Aker vessels during a five-hour direct intervention, deploying devices intended to shred fishing nets.
The Bandero, which departed Australia in February as part of “Operation Krill Wars,” was named after a tequila brand owned by American billionaire John Paul DeJoria, a longtime supporter of Paul Watson’s activism. Watson, founder of Sea Shepherd, was not on board.
Why it matters
The incident highlights the intensifying conflict over krill harvesting in the Antarctic, a critical ecosystem where krill are a foundational species sustaining whales, seals, and penguins. Conservationists warn that expanding krill fishing threatens the food chain and the ocean’s carbon buffering capacity.
Krill fishing in the Southern Ocean reached a record level last season, prompting an unprecedented early closure of the fishery regulated by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which includes 27 nations and the European Union. The increasing industrial extraction of krill in these remote waters raises concerns about ecological sustainability and international maritime safety.
Background
Paul Watson founded the Sea Shepherd conservation movement in the 1970s, gaining notoriety for confrontational tactics against whaling and illegal fishing. The Captain Paul Watson Foundation, a separate entity, continues activist efforts, often through direct interventions against commercial fishing vessels.
The Bandero’s actions reflect a long-standing “David-and-Goliath” dynamic in the Southern Ocean, where small activist vessels challenge powerful industrial operators. Despite past legal controversies involving Watson, including previous detentions over aggressive campaigns, his organizations maintain a focus on marine ecosystem defense.
The forthcoming investigation into the collision will likely begin when the Bandero next docks, as the vessel is registered under Mongolia’s flag. Under international maritime law, vessels overtaking others must ensure clear passage, a point relevant to the legal scrutiny ahead.
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