Brigitte Bardot
In December, "Steve Irwin" joined "Bob Barker" and "Brigitte Bardot" in locating and pursuing the Japanese whaling fleet, which had passed by off the western Australian coast, on the way to the Southern Ocean for whaling operations. A drone surveillance aircraft launched from "Steve Irwin" located the whaling fleet some 500 miles off the southwest coast of Australia on December 24. After chasing the fleet for four days, "Steve Irwin" had to break off and escort "Brigitte Bardot" back to Fremantle, after "Brigitte Bardot" was damaged by a rogue wave.