STEVE IRWIN
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Former flagship of Sea Shepherd to become artificial reef
The "Steve Irwin", which until 2018 served as the flagship of the Sea Shepherd environmental group, could be taking on a new role as an artificial reef. The Australian Dive Industry of Victoria Association (DIVA) recently announced it has secured an undertaking from the Sea Shepherd Organization to donate the Steve Irwin to sink as an artificial reef in Melbourne, which will act as a haven for fish life and as a major tourist attraction to divers worldwide. Sea Shepherd’s donation was subject to DIVA’s being able to raise the money to prepare the vessel for sinking, along with getting the required government permissions. Melbourne was competing with another Australian city for approval to get the vessel as an artificial reef. With the "Steve Irwin"’s decommissioning, the "Ocean Warrior" became the flagship of Sea Shepherd’s global fleet. “The sinking of the Steve Irwin will enable the Steve Irwin to continue its role in being a protector of the oceans by becoming a haven for fish life, at its traditional home base, Melbourne. The primary purpose of this petition to being used to measure the support of the Global Dive Industry in order to be able to present this petition to the Victorian Government.” Sea Shepherd
Sea Shepherd ship underway to breakers
The "Steve Irwin" is underway to scrapping. The vessel carried out campaigns in Antarctica in the attempt to prevent the Japanese whaling fleet from killing whales in the South Pacific whale reserve. According to Sea Shepherd, Steve Irwin has helped save over 6,000 whales. The vessel also implemented campaigns to protect whales in the Faroe Islands, bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean, humpback whales off Australia's Kimberley coast, protests against oil and gas exploration in the Great Australian Bight, coal transit through the Great Barrier Reef, attempts to stop illegal Chinese driftnets in the southern Indian Ocean and illegal fishing of seaweed in the South Sea. After 11 years, the engineers have found that the "Steve Irwin" was no longer safe to use at sea. The hull is scarred and damaged. Sea Shepherd had hoped to make the ship a maritime museum or dive site. However, it was not possible. The ship therefore left Australia for the last time sailing from Brisbane on Dec 3, 2018, on the way to a scrapping yard in China approved under the Hong Kong Convention.
1st Ship Returns from Sea Shepherd’s Whale Defense Campaign
After 83 days at sea, Sea Shepherd’s patrol vessel the Steve Irwin returned to Dunedin, New Zealand, on February 23, completing its job as part of the 11th Antarctic whale defense campaign, Operation Nemesis. The second patrol vessel, the Ocean Warrior, remains in pursuit of a Japanese factory whaling ship, the marine conservation organization informed. In early December 2016, the two ships started their voyage the Southern Ocean to intercept the Japanese whaling fleet in a bid stop the slaughter of minke whales. http://worldmaritimenews.com/archives/213743/1st-ship-returns-from-sea-shepherds-whale-defense-campaign/
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