in late 2009, with the new black paint job evoking a '
stealth design', backed by special radar-scattering paint. Sea Shepherd noted that the vessel had been the only one in the fleet fast enough to keep up with all vessels of the Japanese whaling fleet. On 17 October 2009, the
Earthrace was presented to the media with a new black paint job, and it was renamed
Ady Gil, after the name of a major sponsor (a Hollywood lighting-equipment magnate who had donated $1 million to the group). The new paint job and futuristic appearance of the boat itself often evoked comparisons to
Batman vehicles and
stealth craft in the media. 4–8 layers of
Kevlar were added to protect the hull against ice with the thickness depending on the location, with all areas under the waterline getting the extra laminations of kevlar as well as some areas above the waterline. To reduce its
radar profile for the Japanese fleet, the ship was painted with
a paint intended to scatter radar signals and a
broadband radar which has near-zero radar emissions. Other electronics upgrades included
FLIR cameras,
Iridium satellite communications as well as an array of speakers which were intended for communication purposes. Bethune said that he intended to play songs like
Tangaroa from New Zealand musician
Tiki Taane to the whalers, a "growling big sort of a song about the God of the Sea who looks after us". Sea Shepherd crew said before the journey that
Ady Gil would not be used as a confrontational vessel like the
Steve Irwin. However, Sea Shepherd leader
Paul Watson, President of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, later stated in October 2009 that with a top speed of 50 knots, the vessel would be used to intercept
harpoon ships and physically block them from harpooning whales, allowing Sea Shepherd to "mount the most ambitious and aggressive effort to date to obstruct the slaughter of the whales in the Southern Ocean."
Collision with the Shōnan Maru 2 and abandonment During the days before the collision, the
Ady Gil engaged Japanese whaling vessels during their hunt. The crew towed ropes in an attempt to foul the propellers of the Japanese ships and used a
potato cannon to fire capsules of foul-smelling
butyric acid which taints the
whale meat the whalers get from their hunts. Crew on three vessels, the
Shōnan Maru 2, the
Ady Gil, and the , a Sea Shepherd Conservation Society support ship, took footage of the incident, and video of the incident has been released by both the
Institute of Cetacean Research and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Each side blames the other for the incident, arguing that the skipper of the other vessel miscalculated during a dangerous maneuver. In a statement released by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, Chuck Swift, who witnessed the incident from his ship, the
Bob Barker, claimed that both vessels were stationary in the water when the
Shōnan Maru 2 "started up and then steered deliberately into the
Ady Gil". However, Watson later stated that "One only needs to watch the video to see that Bethune negligently stopped his ship in the path of the whaling vessel and it was cut in half". Japan's
Institute of Cetacean Research blames the collision on Sea Shepherd, who they say were attempting to entangle their rudder and propeller by repeatedly crossing their bow with lines. The Japanese Fisheries Agency said that the
Shōnan Maru 2 had employed a
water cannon to deter the
Ady Gil, but the anti-whaling vessel undertook manoeuvres like suddenly reducing speed, resulting in the collision. Opinions in news media organisations vary similarly. Some blame the
Ady Gil for powering up to intentionally propel itself into the whaler's path, some accuse the
Shōnan Maru 2 of intentionally ramming a stationary vessel – with both sides basing their views primarily on the released video footage. Others place the blame more evenly. An investigation into the collision by the
Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) was inconclusive and unable to assign blame for the collision. AMSA was unable to verify claims made by Sea Shepherd, while the Japanese government declined to participate with the investigation saying any information it had might be needed for an inquiry by its own authorities. New Zealand authorities found both parties were at fault for the collision. The inquiry by
Maritime New Zealand found that the
Shonan Maru No. 2 should have kept clear of the
Ady Gil under international collision regulations, and had ample opportunity to avoid hitting it. It also found that the
Ady Gil failed to take avoiding action, and its helmsman did not see the Japanese ship bearing down until seconds before the impact. The Institute discovered the wreck of the Ady Gil and released video footage reportedly showing it to be leaking diesel fuel into the
Southern Ocean. It also recovered a number of large-size arrows floating near the wreck, arguing that these proved Sea Shepherd was willing to endanger human life with their tactics. The crew of the Ady Gil claim the arrows were to be used for shooting the dead whales, poisoning their flesh and causing the whale to be of no use to the whalers and statements to this effect were made during filming for an episode of
Whale Wars. The discovery of the arrows was later used by Sea Shepherd to justify the expulsion of Bethune from the Sea Shepherd organisation. Having sustained severe damage,
Ady Gil was towed towards the French
Dumont d'Urville Station in Antarctica. While weather conditions had been reported as favourable for the salvage attempt, the process of towing the vessel was reported to have caused it to take on more water. Sea Shepherd claimed that all fuel and oil had been taken off-board the drifting vessel, at risk to the crew. However, Japanese sources later provided photographs allegedly showing the abandoned wreckage to be leaking diesel fuel into the
Southern Ocean. Bethune posted an open letter to his Facebook page on 6 October 2010, in which he said that after colliding with the
Shōnan Maru 2, Watson directed him to deliberately sink the
Ady Gil for PR purposes. On 7 January 2013, Watson was sued in Los Angeles County by the owner of the boat for $5 million. Gil says his vessel was rammed by a Japanese whaling ship in 2010 and suffered damage to the nose but the damage was repairable. According to Gil, Watson saw the collision as an opportunity to spin the incident into a major publicity and money maker for his organisation so instead of towing the boat to port for repairs, he secretly gave an order to sink the ship "under the cover of darkness" and blamed the Japanese. Gil claims Watson knew that blaming the whalers for the destruction of his ship would garner sympathy for his cause and spark outrage against the whalers inspiring more people to donate to his anti-whaling organisation. Bethune also took Sea Shepherd to arbitration court for the balance owed to him in the amount of $500,000. A complaint based on the
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act was filed by Ady Gil and Vince Dundee against Sea Shepherd and Paul Watson on 6 August 2014 in the Superior Court of Los Angeles regarding the solicitation of donations for a replacement for the vessel. In September 2015, an arbitrator ruled that Sea Shepherd intentionally and wrongfully scuttled the MV Ady Gil, intending to capitalise on the publicity the sinking would bring. Sea Shepherd fought to have the ruling and award kept from the public, but was ultimately unsuccessful. In January 2016, it accepted the arbitrator's ruling, which once finalised will see the arbitration award made public. Mr Gil and Earthrace Ltd were awarded US$500,000 in compensation plus 3.25% interest on that amount from 8 January 2010 to 15 September 2015, the date of the arbitrator's order.
Bethune's detention and arrest Bethune boarded the
Shōnan Maru 2 on 15 February 2010, claiming to be conducting a
citizen's arrest of her captain for what he said was the attempted murder of him and his crew, and to present a $3 million demand for his lost boat. He was detained by the ship's crew and taken to Japan, where he was arrested by the
Japanese Coast Guard on 12 March on charges of trespassing. On 2 April 2010, Bethune was
indicted on five charges; trespassing, assault, illegal possession of a knife, destruction of property and obstruction of business. He was held without
bond in a maximum security prison for five months. In July 2010 Bethune was sentenced to two years in prison, but received a five-year suspension of sentence and was deported back to New Zealand. Bethune was also seemingly expelled from Sea Shepherd in response to bringing a set of bow and arrows on board with intent of spoiling
whale meat for commercial use; however, Watson later said this was a legal strategy on the part of Sea Shepherd during Bethune's trial.
Replacement The financial loss of the
Ady Gil was estimated at $1.5 million. A donor had reportedly offered $1 million towards the construction of the
Ady Gil 2. Sea Shepherd instead acquired the
Ocean 7 Adventurer (which is the vessel that held the race record until the Ady Gil beat it) to replace the
Ady Gil for its 2011 campaign against Japanese whaling in the Antarctic and renamed it MV
Gojira (Godzilla), then later, . == See also ==