Anti-whalers to chase Japan fleet for second time

By Rob Taylor

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Hardline anti-whaling activists said on Thursday they would return to harass Japan's whaling fleet for another three weeks after departing Antarctic waters to refuel in Australia unless they were blocked by police.

"This is a retreat for supplies only. We have not surrendered the Sanctuary to the whale killers," Sea Shepherd protest skipper Paul Watson said after leaving an Australian-declared whale haven in the Southern Ocean.

Watson and his crew may face questions from Australian police after arriving in Melbourne on February 2 over the boarding of a Japanese harpoon boat this month by two activists.

The pair, Australian Benjamin Potts and Briton Giles Lane, were held for three days on the Japanese whale hunter Yushin Maru 2 after boarding it on the high seas, sparking Japanese accusations of piracy and an Australian police investigation.

"The Australian Federal Police are still deciding if they have jurisdiction to investigate," a spokeswoman for Australian Justice Minister Bob Debus said.

The Japanese government accused Canberra of being too lenient on the pair because Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has promised a tougher approach against Tokyo's cull of close to 1,000 whales.

Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith was due in Japan on Thursday to voice opposition to the hunt to his Japanese counterpart while easing fears of a diplomatic row with one of Canberra's biggest trading partners.

Watson, who last year threatened to ram the Japanese flagship, said his Sea Shepherd Conservation Society was unconcerned about a police investigation, as he was confident it was Japan who was in breach of international law.