Bob Barker in port
History
Norwegian merchant ensignNorway
NamePol XIV
OwnerHvalfangerselskap Polaris A/S
Port of registryLarvik, Norway
BuilderFredrikstad MV, Fredrikstad, Norway
Yard number333[1]
Launched8 July 1950
In service1950–66
NotesOperated as a whaler until 1962[2]
Norwegian merchant ensignNorway
NameVolstad Jr.
OwnerEinar Volstad PR
Port of registryÅlesund, Norway
In service1966–97
Norwegian merchant ensignNorway
NameVerdi
OwnerLafjord Rederi A/S
Port of registryBergen, Norway
In service1997–98
Norwegian merchant ensignNorway
NameVolstad Jr.
OwnerLafjord Rederi A/S
Port of registryBergen, Norway
In service1998–2004[3]
Cook Islands flagCook Islands
NamePolaris
OwnerSeven Sea Sg Inc
Port of registryRarotonga, Cook Islands
In service2005–09
Togo flagTogo
NameM/Y Bob Barker
OwnerSea Shepherd Conservation Society
Port of registryTogo registry withdrawn as of February 2010
In service2009–10
Identification
NotesRe-flagged to the Netherlands
Dutch FlagNetherlands
NameM/Y Bob Barker
OwnerSea Shepherd Conservation Society
Port of registryRotterdam, Netherlands
In service2010–2022
Identification
FateScrapped in Aliağa, Turkey 2022
General characteristics
Tonnage488 GT[1]
Length52.2 m (171 ft)[2]
Beam9 m (30 ft)[1]
Draft5.95 m (19.52 ft)
Propulsion1 × 3000 hp diesel
Speed18 kn (33.3 km/h)[5]
Capacity540 m3 of fuel
Complement20–40

The MY Bob Barker was a ship owned and operated by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, named after American television game show host and animal rights activist Bob Barker, whose donation of $5 million to the society facilitated the purchase of the ship.[6] She began operating for the group in late 2009 / early 2010 in its campaign against whaling by Japanese fisheries. In October 2010, Sea Shepherd stated that Bob Barker had completed a major refit in Hobart, Tasmania.[7] Hobart became the ship's honorary home port in 2014.[8]

History

Overview

Bob Barker is described as a "long-range fast ice" vessel measuring 488 GT[1] It was built in Norway in 1950 as the whale catcher Pol XIV, but was deleted from the Norwegian ship registry in 2004, and sold to a Cook Islands registry concern.[3][1] It was eventually purchased by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and refitted in Africa.

On 19 February 2010, Japanese officials said that Bob Barker's Togo registry had been withdrawn.[9] On 24 May 2010, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society stated that Bob Barker was now registered under the Dutch flag.[10]

Sea Shepherd operations

After her African refit, Bob Barker departed Mauritius on 18 December 2009 to join up with the MY Steve Irwin and MY Ady Gil, the two other Sea Shepherd vessels.[11] One of its first actions was to take video footage of the collision between Ady Gil and a Japanese security vessel, after which she took aboard the crew from the stricken Sea Shepherd craft.[12]

On 6 February 2010, while obstructing the slip-way of Nisshin Maru factory ship, Bob Barker collided with Yūshin Maru No. 3, resulting in a 3-foot-4-inch (1.02 m) gash in Bob Barker's hull above the waterline. The Institute of Cetacean Research reported minor damage to a handrail and to the hull of its ship.[13][14] Both Sea Shepherd and the ICR accused the other of intentionally causing the crash.[13][15]

On 25 February 2010, Sea Shepherd reported that Bob Barker, which had been following the whaling fleet after Steve Irwin broke off pursuit to return to port, was suffering from a fuel valve problem and would be returning to port, ending the organization's operations for the 2009–2010 whaling season.[16]

On 9 February 2011, Sea Shepherd reported that Bob Barker, which had been searching for the whaling fleet alongside the Sea Shepherd vessel Gojira (Now MV Brigitte Bardot) began blocking Nisshin Maru's slipway.[17] On 18 February 2011, after being aggressively tailed by Bob Barker for over 3,000 nmi (5,556 km), Nisshin Maru changed course and headed towards Japan, cutting short the 2010–11 whaling season.[18]

On 5 March 2012, Sea Shepherd reported that after a lengthy search Bob Barker found the whaling fleet's factory ship, Nisshin Maru.[19] Three days later, on 8 March 2012, the whalers left the Southern Ocean for the 2011–12 season.[20][21]

MY Bob Barker at Circular Quay in Sydney on 9 June 2012, in dazzle camouflage

On 20 February 2013, the Japanese whaling ship Nisshin Maru rammed Bob Barker, MY Sam Simon, Steve Irwin and Sun Laurel multiple times in a confrontation in the Southern Ocean, north of Australia's Casey Research Station in Antarctica.[22] Bob Barker was hit on the stern, with Nisshin Maru's bow knocking down several of Bob Barker's antennas. Bob Barker issued a mayday after losing power.[23]

Following repair from damage, January to March 2014 saw the MY Bob Barkers embark on Operation Relentless - its last Southern Ocean mission, with a total of 99 days at sea. In February the MY Bob Barker was involved in a collision, this time with the Yushin Maru No. 3, resulting in the MY Bob Barker suffering a cracked hull and broken ribs - though damage did not affect ship operations. Damage was significant enough to be visible to the crew from within the ship.

On March 31, 2014, Japan was sued by Australia before the International Court of Justice because of its international responsibility for the Institute of Cetacean Research and parent company Kyoto Senpaku, forcing both companies to suspend operations.

However advances in the radar technologies of whaling fleets made it increasingly difficult for the MY Bob Barker to find and pursue whaling fleets.

From 2016 until its retirement in 2022, the MY Bob Barker operated a range of campaigns in West Africa in partnership with several African countries. These campaigns are meant to bring an end to illegal fishing in West African waters.

On 12 November 2022, the MY Bob Barker was retired from the Sea Shepherd fleet and sent to Turkey for recycling.[24]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Pol XIV (5280540)". Miramar Ship Index.
  2. 1 2 "Our Fleet – M/Y Bob Barker". Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. 5 June 2010. Archived from the original on 15 January 2010. Retrieved 8 January 2010.
  3. 1 2 "Sea Shepherd kom med norsk flagg" (in Norwegian). Norsk rikskringkasting AS. 8 January 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
  4. 1 2 "Bob Barker". MarineTraffic.com. Archived from the original on 6 February 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
  5. ↑ "Investigation report Ady Gil and Shonan Maru No. 2" (PDF). MaritimeNZ.govt.nz. p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 November 2010. Retrieved 18 November 2010.
  6. ↑ Itzkoff, Dave (6 January 2010). "Bob Barker, Whale Pal". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
  7. ↑ "Bob Barker Completes Successful Refit". seashepherd.org. Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. 15 October 2010. Archived from the original on 17 October 2010. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  8. ↑ "Sea Shepherd's Bob Barker gets honorary home port status in Hobart". ABC News. 12 March 2014.
  9. ↑ "Detained antiwhaling activist in good health: Okada". Kyodo News International. 19 February 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  10. ↑ "The Bob Barker Goes Dutch" (Press release). Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. 24 May 2010. Archived from the original on 28 May 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
  11. ↑ "The Time is Right for Bob Barker to Rescue the Whales" (Press release). Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. 5 January 2010. Archived from the original on 21 July 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
  12. ↑ "Japanese Whalers Ram Sea Shepherd Ship Ady Gil" (Press release). Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. 5 January 2010. Archived from the original on 14 January 2010. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
  13. 1 2 "Violence Escalates in Southern Ocean Whaling Battle". Environment News Service. 6 February 2010. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
  14. ↑ "Anti-whaling vessel hit again". The New Zealand Herald. 7 February 2010. Retrieved 13 February 2010.
  15. ↑ "Watson to whalers: We will never surrender". The Japan Times. 9 February 2010. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
  16. ↑ "Sea Shepherd Ships Complete Operations in Southern Ocean for 2010" (Press release). Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. 25 February 2010. Archived from the original on 28 February 2010. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
  17. ↑ "Sea Shepherd Interrupts Illegal Whale Slaughter" (Press release). Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. 9 February 2011. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
  18. ↑ "VSO Day" (Press release). Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. 18 February 2011. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
  19. ↑ Urbina, Ian. "Storming the Thunder," The Outlaw Ocean. Knopf Doubleday. p. 37
  20. ↑ "Sea Shepherd Conservation Society – Eureka! The Whaling Fleet Has Been Found and Shut Down!".
  21. ↑ "Sea Shepherd Conservation Society – The Whalers Head Home!".
  22. ↑ Urbina, Ian (28 July 2015). "A Renegade Trawler, Hunted for 10,000 Miles by Vigilantes". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  23. ↑ Choe, Kim (21 February 2013). "Sea Shepherd claims victory over whalers". 3 News NZ. Archived from the original on 26 September 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  24. ↑ "Remembering the Sea Shepherd Vessel, Bob Barker". Sea Shepherd Global. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
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