Friends,

Onboard the Greenpeace ship Esperanza in the Southern Ocean - campaigning against an illegal whaling hunt- we find ourselves in an unexpected situation. The vessel we had been searching for - the Japanese factory whaling ship Nisshin Maru - issued a distress call after a serious fire broke out on board. The blaze is thought to be under control, but tragically, one crew member has been lost.

The Nisshin Maru is now disabled and carries approximately 1,000 tons of oil and sits 100 nautical miles from the largest Adelie penguin colony in the world. An oil spill or chemical leak would be a major ecological disaster in the Antarctic, and there may be bad weather soon.

To help avoid further tragedy, Greenpeace has offered our ship, the Esperanza, to tow the whaling ship out of the Southern Ocean. We'll keep you posted as the situation unfolds.

The whale hunt is most likely over for the season, but the whales still face a serious threat. The government of Japan has been lobbying hard to overturn the 20 year old ban on commercial whaling, and this May the International Whaling Commission is meeting in Alaska for a vote. <b> Now, more than we need YOU to defend the whales.

-->> You don’t have to be on the ship in the Southern Oceans to help save whales!
-->> Be a Whale Defender -- visit the I GO community website at whales.greenpeace.org/us

TAKE ACTION: Register for free on the new online community site I GO (whales.greenpeace.org/us) and you'll have a chance chat with Greenpeace campaigners on the ship, to meet other whale defenders, suggest and vote on campaign ideas, see excellent videos and keep up with the news from the front lines. Sign up, create a profile and introduce yourself in the US Whale Defenders Forum.

Whales are an important and irreplaceable part of our ocean environment. Their intelligence, grace and beauty make them ambassadors of our increasingly endangered seas. In the 1980s, however, whales of many species were being driven to the brink of extinction by rampant and uncontrolled commercial whaling. The moratorium on commercial whaling was a great victory for ocean wildlife. But the whales need us now more than ever. From now until the International Whaling Commission's vote in May, whale defenders must take action to prevent the resumption of commercial whaling.

Become a part of the online whale defender community today, and play a role in saving the whales once and for all. I'll look for you on the US Whale Defender's
Forum!

best,

erik
greenpeace usa