Whalers ignore IWC whale sanctuary, begin killing whales

[Gun Manufacturers]

OOC: This is open to MT nations, whether you want to be whalers, protesters, or naval vessels.

IC: Aboard the harpoon ship Sea Stalker, Captain Yerkish reigned supreme. Captain Yerkish took care of his crew, and in turn they'd follow him to hell and back. Therefore, when he told the helmsman to turn towards the IWC whale sanctuary, the helmsman didn't hesitate. Since the whale sanctuary was in international waters, and the ASoGM was not a signatory to the IWC treaty, the Sea Stalker crew felt that it was within their legal rights to hunt there. The fleet the Sea Stalker was with was not far away, they could be called in case environmentalists came to harass them.

Other ship contacts were present on the Sea Stalker's radar, and while the radar operator knew that some of those contacts were the rest of the fleet, he didn't know about the others. Some of them were rather large and moving at a good pace, while others were slower, smaller moving contacts.

Soon, the Sea Stalker crew lined up their first whale, and fired. A solid hit, and the processing ship was called. The kill would be hauled up and the processing would start within the hour. Captain Yerrkish was proud of his crew.

[Noordeinde]

The Office of the President
The Grand Duchy of Noordeinde

Official Press Release

To: The ASoGM Whaling Authorities
Subject: Whaling

Sir, Madam,

The Grand Duchy of Noordeinde regretts the decision made by the ASoGM to start whaling once more again afther quite some incidents in the past between whalers and multiple National Navies, including the Royal Noordeindian Navy.

We strongly urge the ASoGM to withdraw immediatley from the ICW Whale sactuary, though it's not a member nation. The ASoGM only wants to provoke member nations of the ICW because this is the only way the International community will take them serious. Something we call pathetic in Noordeinde.

We warn the ASoGM, if they will enter Noordeindian territorial waters their vessels will be subject of boarding and investigation, all crew will be arrested and put on trial. Aftherwards the vessel will be sunk. A fact that were not kidding we can report that 3 whaling vessels which illegally entered Noordeidian territorial waters have been sunk and destroyed already!

Yours,
Jonathan Roosevelt
President
The Grand Duchy of Noordeinde

[Allied Governments]

The Federation of Allied Governments, after careful deliberation, concludes it doesn't give a damn.

[Ostronopolis]

The Federation of Allied Governments, after careful deliberation, concludes it doesn't give a damn.

((OoC: I love it))

[Gun Manufacturers]

The Office of the President
The Grand Duchy of Noordeinde

Official Press Release

To: The ASoGM Whaling Authorities
Subject: Whaling

Sir, Madam,

The Grand Duchy of Noordeinde regretts the decision made by the ASoGM to start whaling once more again afther quite some incidents in the past between whalers and multiple National Navies, including the Royal Noordeindian Navy.

We strongly urge the ASoGM to withdraw immediatley from the ICW Whale sactuary, though it's not a member nation. The ASoGM only wants to provoke member nations of the ICW because this is the only way the International community will take them serious. Something we call pathetic in Noordeinde.

We warn the ASoGM, if they will enter Noordeindian territorial waters their vessels will be subject of boarding and investigation, all crew will be arrested and put on trial. Aftherwards the vessel will be sunk. A fact that were not kidding we can report that 3 whaling vessels which illegally entered Noordeidian territorial waters have been sunk and destroyed already!

Yours,
Jonathan Roosevelt
President
The Grand Duchy of Noordeinde

TO: Jonathan Roosevelt, President The Grand Duchy of Noordeinde
FROM: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ASoGM
RE: Whaling

We wish to inform you that the ASoGM has been whaling for some time since our research was completed, and we don't do this to provoke other nations. We do this because many GMian citizens enjoy whale meat and other whale products, and to date, the only place we can find such whale products are from whales. As to leaving the IWC whale sanctuary, we do not have control over whaling ships, as they are privately owned vessels operating in international waters. On the subject of sinking whaling vessels, we feel that your nation is over-reacting to a economically, environmentally, and ethically viable business that conflicts with your nations morals. Be assured though, that GMian whalers have already been warned about your nation's feelings on whaling, and thus wouldn't have gone there. The ASoGM hopes when you determine the nationality of the whalers you have in custody, that you release the whalers back to their home nation.

[Ostafrika (Ancient)]

IC:

His Imperial & Royal Highness the Archduke Leopold Ludwig Ortwin of the House of Hohenzollern is most puzzled as to why the government of Gun Manufacturers has chosen to so blatantly violate a lawfully established whale santuary for these operations when there is so much open ocean in the world, and many places to find whales which are not guarded as most sanctuaries now are.

For observation and peacekeeping purposes, he has ordered the deployment of SHS Niedersachsen to hold place in the general area of the whaling operations. The ship's commanding officer, Captain Max Jürgen Baum, has orders to take no violent actions, save that which is necessary to defend his men and his warship.

- Maximilian Kappel, Voice of His Imperial & Royal Highness

[Gun Manufacturers]

Shortly after the Sea Stalker's first kill was pulled up the slipway of the processing ship Poseidon's Bounty, it was joined by its sister ship, the Whale Wrangler. Poseidon's Bounty left to rendezvous with one of the other ships in the fleet, while Sea Stalker positioned itself towards another pod of whales. The Whale Wrangler moved towards the pod from a different angle, and was in a perfect position to take a shot. The harpooner fired, and the Whale Wrangler had its first kill on the line. The pod changed direction away from the Whale Wrangler, right into the path of the Sea Stalker. A while later, the Sea Stalker had its next kill. The crew of Poseidon's Bounty would would be busy for the next few weeks.

[Gun Manufacturers]

The whaling fleet continued operations throughout the night, with very few problems. One such problem occurred on the Whale Wrangler, when their hydraulic pumps failed, forcing them to stop operations until the pumps were repaired. By morning, the entire fleet had maneuvered into the whale sanctuary, although one of the spotter ships, the Sea Scout, somehow broke one of the flukes off it's starboard propeller, and was forced to head back for repairs.

Several times, radar operators aboard the various fleet ships spotted contacts at the edge of their radar scopes. The fleet didn't know the intentions of the unidentified ships, but hoped that they weren't protesters or worse.