News
The Viking Dies
The VIKING. This is the ship that Captain Sid Chakravarty and his crew on the Sea Shepherd ship STEVE IRWIN hunted and tracked for the last three months, from the Southern Ocean across the Indian Ocean into the waters of Indonesia where he alerted the Indonesian authorities to intervene with an arrest warrant from Interpol.
And now, the no-nonsense Indonesian Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Susi Pudjiastuti will oversee the destruction of the VIKING.
The fuel and oil have been pumped out and the Indonesian Navy will send the VIKING to the bottom. Instead of killing fish it will now be a habitat for fish and other marine life – and it will make one hell of a dive site.
The STEVE IRWIN has departed for another important mission, but a Sea Shepherd documentary crew led by Sea Shepherd Asia Director Gary Stokes will be on site in Indonesia to witness and document the sinking of the last of the Bandit Six – the VIKING.
The first of the Bandit Six, the THUNDER was scuttled in the waters of Sao Tome last April 6th. The crew of the SAM SIMON rescued the 42 crew of the poaching vessel while crew from the BOB BARKER boarded the THUNDER to secure evidence of their illegal activities.
That evidence led to a fine of 15 million Euros or the incarceration of the Captain and two of his officers who are now serving three and two year sentences respectively. The evidence also contributed to the arrest of six members of the Vidal family in Galicia, Spain, the money and the organization behind many organized crime operations on the high seas.
The other four vessels have all been arrested. The YONG DING and SONGUA in Cape Verde thanks to the efforts of Captain Peter Hammarstedt, the PERLON in Malaysia and the KUNLUN last month in Senegal.
Sea Shepherd would like to thank the authorities in Indonesia, Malaysia, Sao Tome Principe, Cape Verde, Nigeria, Mauritius, Spain and Indonesia and of course INTERPOL for their efforts in this most successful campaign.
This fleet which has operated with impunity for over a decade in the Southern Ocean has been completely shut down.
Operation Icefish was organized for the express purpose of stopping the Bandit Six. It was initiated in December 2014 and now, with the destruction of the VIKING, it is 90% over.
All that remains now is a conviction of the Vidal family in Spain.
Every volunteer crewmember, shore volunteer and supporter of Sea Shepherd can be proud of what has been accomplished over the last fifteen months. Together we accomplished what everyone told us was impossible to do but the one thing that Sea Shepherd has developed over the years is the ability to take on impossible missions and to make the impossible – possible!
News
Dive Worldwide Announces Bite-Back as its Charity of the Year
Over the next 12 months, specialist scuba holiday company Dive Worldwide will be supporting Bite-Back Shark & Marine Conservation with donations collected from client bookings to any one of its stunning dive destinations around the world. The independently-owned operator expects to raise £3000 for the UK charity.
Manager at Dive Worldwide, Phil North, said: “We’re especially excited to work with Bite-Back and support its intelligent, creative and results-driven campaigns to end the UK trade in shark products and prompt a change in attitudes to the ocean’s most maligned inhabitant.”
Bite-Back is running campaigns to hold the media to account on the way it reports shark news along with a brand new nationwide education programme. Last year the charity was credited for spearheading a UK ban on the import and export of shark fins.
Campaign director at Bite-Back, Graham Buckingham, said: “We’re enormously grateful to Dive Worldwide for choosing to support Bite-Back. The company’s commitment to conservation helps set it apart from other tour operators and we’re certain its clients admire and respect that policy. For us, the affiliation is huge and helps us look to the future with confidence we can deliver against key conservation programmes.”
To launch the fundraising initiative, Phil North presented Graham Buckingham with a cheque for £1,000.
Visit Dive Worldwide to discover its diverse range of international scuba adventures and visit Bite-Back to learn more about the charity’s campaigns.
MORE INFORMATION
Call Graham Buckingham on 07810 454 266 or email graham@bite-back.com
Gear News
Scubapro Free Octopus Promotion 2024
Free Octopus with every purchase of a SCUBAPRO regulator system
Just in time for the spring season, divers can save money with the FREE OCTOPUS SPRING PROMOTION! Until July 31st SCUBAPRO offers an Octopus for free
with every purchase of a regulator system!
Get a free S270 OCTOPUS with purchase of these combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with A700
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with S620Ti
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with D420
MK25 EVO Din mit S620Ti-X
Get a free R105 OCTOPUS with purchase of the following combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with G260
MK25 EVO or MK17 EVO with S600
SCUBAPRO offers a 30-year first owner warranty on all regulators, with a revision period of two years or 100 dives. All SCUBAPRO regulators are of course certified according to the new European test standard EN250-2014.
Available at participating SCUBAPRO dealers. Promotion may not be available in all regions. Find an authorized SCUBAPRO Dealer at scubapro.com.
More information available on www.scubapro.com.
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