What Happened With Sea Shepherd?

Why, When, Where, Who and Where?

A lot happened in the years 2015 through 2017 and Sea Shepherd had quite a number of campaigns.

With the support of the French government, I spent two years in France, from July 2014 until August 2016. I was not sure I could return to the USA without being detained under the Japanese and Costa Rican Interpol Red Notice.

I was invited by Nicolas Hulot to make a presentation on the Ocean to the COP 21 conference on Climate Change.

On February 14th, Yanina Rusinovich and I were married in the 4th Arrondissement of Paris. Sea Shepherd Global Directors Lamya Essemlali, Alex Cornelissen and Geert Vons attended our wedding. 

In 2015 I wrote a couple of books. Pirates des Océans, a children’s book and Urgence! Il Faut Sauverer Les Océans and in English: Urgent! Save Our Ocean to Survive Climate Change.

The biggest campaign for 2015 was Operation Icefish with the “Bob Barker” with Captain Peter Hammarstedt and the “Sam Simon” with Captain Sid Chakravarty chasing the outlaw toothfish poacher “Thunder”. I was on the “Brigitte Bardot” in Marseille when Peter informed me the “Thunder” was sinking. He asked for advice on what to do. I advised him to have crew board the “Thunder” to get evidence, logbooks, a sample of the fish etc. He was concerned it was too dangerous and my reply was, “what is the point of chasing that ship for 110 days without securing the evidence? He later denied this, but the conversation was filmed by Mark Benjamin in Marseille and the film crew on the “Bob Barker”.

I met the “Sam Simon”, Captain Sid Chakravarty and his crew after the campaign in New Rochelle, France. Both ships went on to Bremerhaven in Germany to prepare to return to the Southern Ocean for another campaign to intercept the toothfish poachers. Knowing that I could not travel to Germany, Peter Hammarstedt refused to stop in France and set a course directly to Germany.

With Sea Shepherd in the USA, I initiated a number of campaigns. The first was Operation Milagro with the “Martin Sheen” with Captain Oona Layolle to protect the endangered Vaquita, and also Operation Virus Hunter to work with Alexandra Morton in British Columbia to expose the damage to marine eco-systems by the domestic salmon farm industry.

In June 2015 I asked Captain Locky Maclean to take the “Sam Simon” from Bremen to follow the ship “Winter Bay” in Tomso, Norway. Alex and Peter opposed the campaign, but I insisted, and this resulted in confronting the ship that was transporting whale meat from Iceland to Japan. I wanted the ship to pursue the “Winter Bay” through the northwest passage over Russia.

At this point Alex Cornelissen and Peter Hammarsted intervened and ordered the “Sam Simon” to return because of mechanical problems with the “Bob Barker” in Bremerhaven. They insisted that the “Sam Simon” go to the Faroe Islands to replace the “Bob Barker.”

Locky took the “Sam Simon” to the Faroes resulting in a few dramatic skirmishes with the Danish Navy.

Also, in the U.S. in 2015, the U.S. Federal 9th Circuit court ordered Sea Shepherd to pay $2.5 million payment to the Japanese whalers. After this payment, Sea Shepherd countersued the Japanese whalers for piracy.

In the U.K, the case of Fish vs Fish was settled over the 2011 Blue Rage Campaign when I had cut the nets of an illegal Maltese fishing operation off the coast of Libya and freed 800 Bluefin Tuna. The company called Fish and Fish sued Sea Shepherd UK and the lower court ruled in our favor, but Fish and Fish appealed to the Court of Appeals and won and then it went to the U.K. Supreme Court and that decision was overturned. The majority in the court overturned the decision of the Court of Appeal, ruling that the first judge had been entitled to find that Sea Shepherd UK’s (“SSUK’s”) actions were not sufficient for it to be liable as a joint tortfeasor. Fish and Fish had to pay over a million pounds in damages to us.

In 2015 I purchased a former U.S. Coast Guard patrol vessel and named it the “Farley Mowat” and sent it to the Sea of Cortez to work with the “Martin Sheen” to protect the endangered Vaquita. I also sent the “Sam Simon” to assist with Operation Milagro.

Another court case in 2015 was Ady Gil and Pete Bethune suing me over the loss of the vessel “Ady Gil.” Although it was rammed and sunk by a Japanese harpoon ship and the New Zealand Maritime Investigation authority laid the blame on both the Japanese and on Bethune for incompetence, they sued me claiming I ordered the boat sunk. At the time I was a few hundred miles away, and after the collision Bethune radioed me and asked what to do with his sinking boat. I replied that it was his boat and thus his decision. He abandoned the sinking vessel. I was unable to attend the mediation because of the Interpol Red Notice preventing me from traveling. Chuck Swift who had been the captain on the “Bob Barker” betrayed me and told the court that I had ordered the sinking. Ady Gil convinced Swift to back up the lie that I had ordered the sinking of a vessel that was already sinking. I was at a disadvantage in not being able to defend myself in the court in the USA and the ruling was against me with an order to pay damages of $500K. Pete Bethune and Ady Gil was a major mistake and taught me to never have an alliance with anyone on a campaign unless we completely controlled the situation. Fortunately, our legal insurance covered the court costs and fine.

In 2016, Captain Sid Chakravarty chased the outlaw toothfish vessel “Viking” into the waters of Indonesia and had it arrested and blown up by the Indonesian government.

By August 2016, I had finally secured a visa for Yana and we were able to return to the United States. Our son Tiger was born in September 2016.

Operation Milagro II continued in Mexico in 2016 and I was able to organize another return to Taiji Japan for Operation Infinite Patience. We also continued with Operation Jairo II to protect sea turtle nests in Latin America and Florida.

In January 2017 I launched the former U.S. Coast Guard patrol vessel “Block Island” as the “John Paul DeJoria” in Miami. It’s first and very sad mission was to join the search for Rob Stewart who drowned while filming sharks in the waters off the Florida Keys.

In March of 2017, I sent an all-female team to the 

Canadian seal hunt called Operation Ice Watch. The campaign led by Brigitte Breau included Clementine Pallanca, Marketa Schusterova, Camille Labchuk, my wife Yana and Michelle Rodriguez. 

The most successful campaign was initiated by Gary Stokes. His idea in early 2017 was to hunt down Chinese poachers. After getting Intel on the poachers in April 2017, Gary asked to use the “Ocean Warrior” that had been sitting in Fremantle, Australia for 6 months not doing anything. Peter Hammarstedt and Alex said no. 

In June 2017 at the Global Board meeting Gary made the request again. I said why not? Peter said he needed the ship for Africa. Since that was not immediate, I argued that Gary should use the ship I moved that Gary should have the ship for 6 weeks. Alex and Peter could not provide a reason why not. Also, we were under pressure from the Dutch Postal Code Lottery that had donated funds for the construction of the Ocean Warrior. They needed a campaign to justify their annual grant of one million Euros.

Gary set out and arrested 15 boats registered in Hong Kong fishing illegally in Timor Leste. The Lottery granted the donation and I sent Gary and his crew an email congratulating them of the single biggest victory in years. 

Peter Hammarsetd was angry with Gary for going around he and Alex to get permission from me to use the “Ocean Warrior” for the campaign. He made a motion to dismiss Gary for not raising enough funds despite the incredible success of the campaign. 

Although I voted against this motion, Gary was dismissed.

It made no sense. The 15 poachers were held for 9 months. It was estimated these 15 ships took some 80,000 sharks each month. This meant that Gary’s campaign had saved some 720,000 sharks. Gary then tracked a Chinese poacher to the Galapagos and informed Alex Cornelissen. Alex was on vacation, so Gary contacted the Galapagos National Park directly and 300 tons of sharks were intercepted. Alex angrily complained that he was in charge in the Galapagos and Gary had acted inappropriately. Alex downplayed the campaign and restricted the posting on social media. When I spoke up in defense of the campaign, all Alex said was that Gary was not raising enough funds. My reply was that it’s not all about fund-raising, it’s about doing successful campaigns.

Peter Hammarstedt kept pushing to do campaigns in Africa with African nations. He wanted to work with African governments to patrol their waters for poachers. I had originally initiated partnerships with the Trinidad and Ecuador and thought it was an idea worth pursuing and I supported his proposal although I had reservations because of all the bureaucratic hassles and corruption I had experienced in the Galapagos.

When I dispatched Locky MacLean and the “John Paul DeJoria” to assist with hurricane relief with Operation Good Pirates of the Caribbean, Alex was furious saying that hurricane relief was not something Sea Shepherd should be involved with. I counter argued that it was about making friends and allies in the Caribbean.

The events during 2015 through 2017 were my first indications that Alex and Peter were trying to push Sea Shepherd into a different direction and also seeking to control and micromanage all the campaigns. It was also becoming apparent that they were both annoyed at my interference with their plans.

I still trusted them and felt that they were loyal to our objectives, and I was open to other decisions concerning campaigns. I was never inclined to micro-manage.

By the end of 2017, I was aware of overall dissatisfaction amongst crew and supporters. I was beginning the see that the establishment of Sea Shepherd Global was a mistake. It had been set up to coordinate the ships and campaigns and to make decisions more democratic, but it was beginning to be controlled more and more by Alex Cornelissen and Peter Hammarstedt.

Photo: Bernard Sidler for Paris Match