New Zealand is to investigate the alleged ramming attack on a conservation boat by a Japanese whaling vessel that crippled the protesters' vessel in Antarctic waters.
New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully has urged both protesters from the Sea Shepherd anti-whaling organisation and the Japanese whalers to stop risking human lives in the isolated waters of the Southern Ocean.
New Zealand maritime authorities have responsibility for the New Zealand-registered Ady Gil, a futuristic speed boat which had its bow demolished in a collision with Japanese whaling vessel Shonan Maru on Wednesday.
WATCH the dramatic collision - as filmed by conservationists WATCH the dramatic collision - as filmed by whalers
The whalers and protesters blame each other for the collision, which resulted in the six crew members on the Ady Gil being rescued by another Sea Shepherd protest ship.
"The responsibility for an investigation will rest with Maritime New Zealand," McCully told Radio New Zealand.
Visit the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society website
Visit the Insititute of Cetacean Research website
"The event did occur in the Australian search and rescue area so there's an Australian involvement," he added.
The regulatory body, Maritime New Zealand, was expected to hold meetings on Thursday to decide what form an investigation should take.
'Show restraint' protesters, whalers told
"I urge all those involved to do what they've failed to do so far, which is put a greater premium on human life in such a harsh environment," McCully said.
"The New Zealand government is totally opposed to Japanese whaling taking place in the Southern Ocean, but we're also opposed to killing human beings down there as well."
Sea Shepherd activists have accused the Japanese whalers of a hit and run over the crash, and asked Australia to send a ship to monitor their actions.
But Australia says it has no plans to deploy a vessel to keep watch over the escalating confrontation, some 1,300 nautical miles south of Hobart, instead urging both sides to show restraint.
