by Captain Paul Watson
Captain Peter Hammaerstedt of the Sea
Shepherd anti-poaching ship BOB BARKER has reported that the unflagged
toothfish poaching vessel THUNDER has sunk.
The ship went down in
4000 metres of water in the position of 00 Degrees 19'North & 005
Degrees 25' East. This is 19 nautical miles North of the Equator and 115
miles from Sao Tome.
The film
crews onboard the THUNDER and onboard the SAM SIMON filmed the THUNDER
as it slid beneath the waters of the Atlantic Ocean inside the EEZ of
the nation of Sao Tome.
The evidence is that the THUNDER was
deliberately scuttled by her Captain to destroy the evidence of their
illegal fishing operations in the Southern Ocean.
The 40 crew of
the THUNDER are presently onboard the SAM SIMON and under observation as
Sea Shepherd awaits a response for assistance from Nigeria or Sao Tome.
“Usually when a vessel is sinking, the captain will close all hatches
so as to maintain buoyancy. However, on the Thunder, the reverse was
done - doors and hatches were tied open and the fishhold was opened. It
is an incredibly suspicious situation, to say the least.” - Capt. Peter
Hammarstedt.
The pursuit of the THUNDER has ended after 110 Days with the THUNDER sunk and no injuries to the crews on any of the vessels.
