Neptune's Navy

Neptune's Navy is the name that the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society uses to refer to the ships it operates. Most of these vessels are used to disrupt or hinder fishing, whaling or sealing operations that the group considers illegal.

The group has historically operated a number of vessels. The Ocean Warrior, later renamed the RV Farley Mowat was purchased in 1996 but seized by the Canadian government in April 2008. Due to the age of the vessel, the Society has decided not to pursue any avenue of reacquiring it. Paul Watson in fact stated that they had intentionally utilised a vessel that had become too old for Sea Shepherd to keep in action further.

In June 2009 Sea Shepherd announced that the trimaran Earthrace, later renamed Ady Gil, would accompany its 2009–10 operations against Japanese whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. Pete Bethune, the operator of the vessel, said that an agreement was reached with Sea Shepherd for the boat to adopt a support role. On October 17, 2009, the Earthrace was presented to the media with a new black paint job, and renamed Ady Gil, after the name of a major sponsor. On January 6, 2010 the vessel was badly damaged in a collision at sea with the Japanese vessel Shōnan Maru 2. The Ady Gil sank on January 8 while she was being towed towards the French Dumont d'Urville Station in Antarctica after it filled with water and became too heavy to tow. The financial loss was estimated at about $1.5 million.

As of 2016^[update], the conservation society operates eight ships, the MY Steve Irwin, MV Brigitte Bardot, the MY Bob Barker, the MY Sam Simon, the RV Martin Sheen, the MY Jairo Mora Sandoval, a new MY Farley Mowat, and the MY Jules Verne. The Steve Irwin was obtained in 2006 and originally called the Robert Hunter. It was renamed in honor of Australian Steve Irwin ("The Crocodile Hunter"). Terri Irwin, his widow, gave her support to Sea Shepherd, saying, "Whales have always been in Steve's heart and in 2006 he was investigating the possibility of joining the Sea Shepherd on part of its journey to defend these beautiful animals."

...
Wikipedia