Japanese Whaling Ship Attacked By Activists

March 3, 2008 11:02 a.m. EST

Tokyo, Japan (AHN)-- Four crew members were reportedly injured after militant activists pelted a Japanese whaling ship in Australia's Antarctic waters with foul-smelling acid and "slippery" powder.

Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Itsunori Onodera broke the news at an international seminar for African and Asian delegates to the International Whaling Commission.

He said crew members of the Nisshin Maru were hurt on Monday after protesters from the Sea Shepherd vessel, the Steve Irwin, threw butyric acid and slippery powder onto the Japanese factory ship.

Butyric acid, found in rotten butter, has an unpleasant smell and can sting the skin and eyes.

Sea Shepherd Captain Paul Watson admitted to the attack but was quick to deny that any of the crew were hurt by it, because they used only organic and non-toxic materials.

He said the activists lobbed 2,000 bottles of butter acid - stink bombs - onto the ship as well as slippery powder to prevent the Japanese whalers from working on the deck.

Watson added that he has video footage to back the group's claims.

The clash between anti-whaling protesters from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and Japanese whaling vessels has been brewing since December.

Japanese whalers kill up to 1,000 of these mammals a year, claiming it part of their culture. They harpoon whales using a loophole in a 1986 global moratorium that allows "lethal research" on the giant mammals, although the meat often ends being eaten.

Australia's new government, on the other hand, has ramped up pressure on Japan against its killing of whales, which are beloved by Australians and sustain a major whale-watching industry.

Whaling season in the Southern Ocean is likely to end later this month when rough weather and icy conditions make hunting impossible.