Protester held on Japanese whaling ship

An anti-whaling activist from New Zealand was being held in custody on a Japanese whaling vessel Tuesday after secretly boarding it the day before as part of a protest, the whalers said.

Diplomats in New Zealand and Tokyo have been meeting to discuss what to do with Peter Bethune, who jumped aboard the Shonan Maru 2 from a Jet Ski on Monday with the stated goal of making a citizen's arrest of the ship's captain and handing over a $3-million US bill for the destruction of his protest ship last month.

The brazen boarding was the latest escalation by the U.S.-based Sea Shepherd activist group meant to hamper the whaling activities of the Japanese.

Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research, which sponsors the whale hunt, called Bethune's actions "a form of piracy" and said the activist was being restrained and may have to stay aboard the ship until it returns to Japan.

It said Bethune used a knife to cut the vessel's protective net to enable his boarding and that he told whalers he then threw the knife into the sea. The crew treated him for a cut on his thumb he received while boarding, the institute said.

"It's a crime under maritime law to board another country's flagged vessel on the high seas illegally," institute spokesman Glenn Inwood told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio. "If he is taken back to Japan, it would be my personal view that … he should face charges in Japan."

Japanese Fisheries Minister Hirotaka Akamatsu told reporters he wants the activist handed over to Japan's Coast Guard for investigation. Under Japanese law, intruding on a Japanese vessel without legitimate reasons can bring a prison term up to three years or a fine up to $1,100 US.

New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McClully said it seemed Bethune intended to be detained aboard the whaling ship, but that the country nevertheless had an obligation to try to help him.

McCully met with Japan's ambassador Tuesday, and New Zealand's top diplomat in Japan met senior officials there Monday.

Sea Shepherd said Bethune wanted to demand the cost of replacing the Ady Gil, an activist ship he captained that sank after a collision with the Shonan Maru 2 last month, and demand the surrender of the whaling ship's captain on attempted murder charges.