MY Whales Forever

The MY Whales Forever was purchased by Sea Shepherd in February, 1994, funded by Europaisches Tierhilfswerk. The ship was notable for having life size murals of dolphins and whales painted on the hull. The ship was severely damaged in an encounter with the Norwegian navy, and sold in 1995.

The Battle of the Lofotens
The Whales Forever, captained by Paul Watson, was in Norway to confront Norwegian whalers, but the Norwegian Navy ship Andenes contacted the Sea Shepherds, telling them that they were under arrest. Captain Watson claimed that the vessel was not in Norwegian waters, and therefore the navy had no power to arrest them. The captain of the Andenes claimed that the Whales Forever was inside Norwegian territorial waters. The Whales Forever continued its course and the Andenes attempted to prop foul it. It then cut across the Whales Forever ' s bow. Captain Watson put the ship in reverse in an attempt to avoid a collision, but the bow of the Whales Forever struck the port side of the Andenes. The bow of the Whales Forever crumpled and the Andenes received a long gash along its hull. The damaged caused large amounts of gasoline to pour out of the Whales Forever. The Andenes ' s prop fouler caught the Whales Forever. The crew immediately attempted to free the rope, while using flares to deter the navy from boarding. The Whales Forever was freed of the rope and began to retreat, with the Andenes in pursuit, threatening to arrest them. The captain of the Andenes announced that he was going to fire a warning shot. The first shot landed short of the starboard side of the ship. The Norwegian captain then ordered all the Sea Shepherds to the stern of the ship and told them that he was going to fire at their bow. Helmsman Chuck Swift rallied the Sea Shepherds to the bow instead. The captain of the Andenes told Captain Watson that Watson would be responsible for any deaths of his crew. Watson compared the captain to Pontius Pilate. The second shot did not hit the bow, but landed to the left of the Whales Forever. The Andenes then announced that he was going to fire on the engine room, but Captain Watson refused to evacuate the engine room. The Andenes deployed inflatable boats that began to drop mines in front of the Whales Forever. Eventually, the Norwegians gave up and the Whales Forever returned to the Shetland Islands.