From: dpe@inel.gov (Don Palmrose)
Subject: Re: Yet Another Anti-Greenpeace Scenario From Thin Air
Organization: INEL EG&G Idaho
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 92 14:53:51 GMT

In article <29721@castle.ed.ac.uk>, gtclark@festival.ed.ac.uk (G T Clark) writes:
> 
> 
> 	The Greenpeace ship was,apparently,three miles from the
> plutonium shipment at all times.This does not count as "harrassment" to
> any person with two brain cells to rub together.
> 	This would seem to be another case of Greenpeace-baiting on the
> part of a  national government.
> 
> 

Excuse me, G.T., but the above statement clearly shows your bias and ignorance
as to the proper operation of a ship at sea.

Having been a qualified Officer of the Deck for a US Navy cruiser, I had to
be very familiar with all of the rules of the road (i.e. the international
rules governing the safe transit on the high seas).  To anybody operating
a major ship, 3 nautical miles (6000 yards) is like being in one's face.  At 
this distance, a supertanker cannot come to a complete stop when initially
travelling at 12 knots of speed.  The Japanese Pu-carrier could probably stop
and turn to avoid another ship that was within 3 nautical miles, but it might 
be tight since she probably only has one propeller and rudder.

Now add in the fact that a clearly hostile ship (don't go and tell me that
the GreenPeace ship was out there to protect the Japanese ship) from the
Japanese point of view is hanging extremely close by accepted marinetime 
standards.  If I were the Japanese in charge of protecting the Pu-carrier,
I would be wondering what they were doing that close also.  So I am not 
surprised the Japanese forced the GreenPeace ship away and you should not
be surprised either.  Whether the Japanese was *right* to force the GreenPeace
ship away, I will leave that to the lawyers.

The fact of the matter is that with radar and a typical direct line of sight
to the horizon of typically 9 nautical miles, the GreenPeace ship could
have monitored the Japanese at distances in excess of 6 to 8 nautical miles
if their intent was only to monitor.  So GreenPeace was clearly the instigator
in this incident.

The bottom line, G.T., is that GreenPeace was testing the Japanese escort
ship much like the old Soviet Union naval ships would test the US Navy's
carrier defenses by trying to purposely get their ships in our carrier's 
way.  It did not matter to them, at that time, whether they were operating
in accordance with the rules of the road and, from everything I have read,
GreenPeace pretty much had (or has) the same attitude.

Don Palmrose




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